We visited Jihad Abu Amshat (Vice Principal) and Natalie Tawill (Teacher) at Talitha Kumi School in Beit Jala. It was started in 1851 as a private Lutheran school for poor Christian children. It is now 50% Christian and 50% Muslim. Less than 1% of the population in Israel is Christian.
The Muslim students come from more wealthy families. The Christians come from poorer families. The Christian population dwindled because they have smaller families than Muslims and many Christians moved out of Israel to avoid the conflicts. The school has 1000 regular students, special needs students, and a special boarding section for girls who have been sexually abused.
Jihad's family have lived as Christians in Beit Jala since 1670. Some of his immediate family members moved out of the country and they encourage him to leave. His family owned 7-8 dunams near Gilo that were confiscated by Israel. In a few months, Israel will confiscate the only green area in Beit Jala - about 6200 dunams. His family will lose another 7-8 dunams in the confiscation. We didn't have time to take pictures.
We visited Greek Catholic Patriarch School in Beit Sahur. It is also a private school. It is 80-85% Christian and 15-20% Muslim. There are 600 students. Tuition is $1500 per year and students pay about 1/2 of the tuition. They received a million dollar grant from Kuwait recently and built a new school wing.
These two schools seem very well off compared to other schools we visit. Class size in these schools might be 20-25 versus 30-35 in Silwan, for example.
On the way home, we stopped at the wing of the Beit Jala hospital that was named after Steve Sosebee's deceased wife.
Linda with Abeer, Sawan (principal) and Rogeece (teacher) in the principal's office.
We invited them to visit the Jerusalem Center for a concert or a tour. They are not allowed to travel freely to Israel because they are "West Bankers" and are not considered citizens of Israel. This is what they have to do: they sent us an email with their names and ids. We will email them an invitation to attend. They will send the invitation to the Israeli government with their names and id asking for permission to travel to Jerusalem. It will take about a week to find out if permission is granted.
Linda and Abeer and Linda and Blaine with the new school wing in the background.
Linda with Niveen of PCRF in front of a picture of Steve Sosebee's wife, who died of Leukemia. The wing was named in her honor. It serves children who have cancer.
Playroom in the cancer wing of the hospital - new, bright, and cheery.
Each patient room is named after a cartoon character and is brightly decorated.
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