Tabitha Ministries Nederland was founded to support the work of Rev. Atallah Esawi.

Pem Rutgers met him in the 1980s, was inspired by his vision for the region and the Family Centre was the first major project to be built with united forces. The Foundation hopes to be able to contribute to the work of Pastor Esawi for a long time to come.

Objective of Tabitha Ministries

The foundation aims to build bridges of friendship and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis. It does this, among other things, by providing support to Christian Palestinians in the West Bank. In doing so, it reinforces the message of reconciliation propagated by Christians in this region. In addition, the foundation hopes to help prevent the migration of Christian Palestinians from that area.

In order to assist Palestinian Christians, the foundation is working on a positive image of them in the Netherlands. She calls on the denominations to participate in the activities of the foundation. The foundation collects funds to be able to realize its objectives.

Main points of the current policy plan

The Foundation carries out four activities:

  • she brings together Israeli youth and Christian-Palestinian youth in summer camps. In these camps mutual understanding for each other’s situation grows and bonds of friendship develop between Israeli and Palestinian teenagers. The foundation strives to organize such a camp once every two years;
  • the Foundation provides humanitarian aid to families in need; this aid is concentrated on the town of Zababdeh, and the surrounding area of that town (the Jenin region). This help is provided in the form of food packages, school fees, medicines and bills for facilities such as electricity, gas and water.
  • the Foundation organizes activities for the youth of Zababdeh and the surrounding area on public holidays and during the holidays; These activities bring together children with a Muslim background and children with a Christian background;
  • The Foundation has built a Social Center in Zababdeh. This center contains a playground, a kindergarten, project rooms for educational, cultural, and sports and games activities. It will also contain a Guesthouse, where project leaders can stay for the duration of the project. The center is now fully in use.

A lot of money is needed for all these activities. The activities in Palestine are partly financially supported by the Christian Hope Trust in England and by Tabitha Ministries in Belgium.