The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East comprises three dioceses: the Diocese of Jerusalem, which includes the Occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel, as well as Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon; the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf (Cyprus, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates); and the Diocese of Iran.

ABM AID chiefly works with the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem which has almost thirty parishes and manages more than 30 social outreach institutions, including hospitals, clinics, educational facilities including some for people living with disabilities, guesthouses, and retirement homes.

Against a background of many challenges, the Diocese of Jerusalem is very active in its social outreach ministry, aiming to provide quality healthcare and education to local communities, especially those on very low incomes. It also works to build up interfaith dialogue between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the five countries and territories in which it works.

ABM and AID have supported the diocese for over a century, through funded projects, the Good Friday Gift, and various emergency appeals. Up to 2023, AID supported the community outreach of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza to educate mothers about health, nutrition, self-esteem and communication skills, and to improve the health outcomes of malnourished and underweight children in the Gaza Strip. This very successful “women-to-women” approach, as well as the hospital’s outreach to improve child nutrition, has sadly had to be suspended because of the ongoing conflict.

1. Responses to impacts of conflict in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon

ABM AID continues to support the emergency response of the Diocese of Jerusalem to the impacts of the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank, including providing

• Vital surgery to patients at Al Ahli Hospital and the field clinic in Khan Younis, Gaza.
• Subsidised health services for those most in need at St Luke’s Hospital, Nablus (outpatients and in-patients) and at the Penman Clinic in Zababdeh (a village near Jenin)

You can read more of ABM AID’s ongoing appeal for Gaza and the West Bank here. 

2. The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt, Jordan

In a time when conflict hangs heavily over the region, our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem continue to work for peace. ABM AID supporters have the chance to stand with them by supporting the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf. In a region where fear threatens to divide communities, the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf is shaping a generation that sees one another not as strangers but as companions.

This co-educational school was established in 1964. The school is in a hillside town 30km from Amman, the capital of Jordan. Since its establishment the Institute has been in an almost continual state of expansion, trying to meet some of the great needs in Jordan, Israel/Palestine and the wider Middle East. It has eight specialist departments which provide K to 12 education leading to university and other further education.

You can learn more about the school by looking at this video, which was made by the Friends of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in the UK:

The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf is transforming its classrooms into fully accessible, interactive learning spaces.

Tactile sign language is taught at the school. As a Deafblind person cannot see signs, the hands of both people touch so the deafblind person can feel what the other person wants to say. © HILD. Used with permission.

With families across the Middle East shaken by uncertainty, your generosity is a powerful act of solidarity – a way of offering what the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Most Revd Dr Hosam E. Naoum, calls “the sanctuary of Christian love.”

The Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem has urged the global Church to respond with unceasing prayer and steadfast love as communities across the region endure escalating violence. In this moment, supporting the Diocese of Jerusalem is more than a charitable act.

It is a witness that says to our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land: “You are not alone.”

Join in building peace in a tangible, life-giving way today.

The part of the world known as “the Middle East” spans many countries. The area is steeped in religious history, and Palestine is, of course, “the land of the Holy One,” or “Holy Land,” where Jesus was born, conducted his earthly ministry, and died.

Since World War II, with the gradual occupation of most of Palestine by the newly-formed State of Israel, Israel and Palestine have been sites of conflict. Gaza has been the scene of a protracted war with Israel since October 2023 and the conflict has also led to violence and economic downturn in the West Bank and Lebanon.  A UN Trade and Development report in 2024 showed that Gaza’s GDP fell to be among the world’s lowest. Inflation surged to 238%, unemployment hit 80%, and all 2.3 million people living in the enclave fell below the poverty line. The economic foundations of Gaza have been propelled to utter ruin. By April 2025, an estimated 70% of all structures had been damaged – including factories, homes, hospitals, schools, banks and essential energy, water, telecommunications and agricultural assets. Night-time luminosity, a proxy for economic activity, fell 73% between October 2023 and May 2025.

In the West Bank the economy has contracted too, shrinking by a quarter in 2024. The World Bank states that “Close to half a million jobs have been lost in the Palestinian economy since October 2023. This includes an estimated loss of 200,000 jobs in the Gaza Strip, 144,000 jobs in the West Bank, and that of 148,000 cross-border commuters from the West Bank to the Israeli labour market.”

In Lebanon, the economy, already in crisis, has been made worse by the current conflict. It is classified as a “lower-middle income country” by the World Bank and ranks 102nd out of 193 in the World Development Index. The country has a population of around 5.3 million people.

Gracious God, we thank you for bringing people together. Bless the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Jordan as Deaf and hearing children learn side by side, discovering dignity, friendship, and shared purpose. May interactive tools and wise teaching break down barriers, strengthen communication, and awaken joy in learning. Equip teachers with patience, skill, and compassion. Uphold every Deaf, hearing-impaired, and hearing student with confidence and hope. Let this integrated community reflect your justice, creativity, and love, building a future of equity and belonging for all children. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.