welcome – salām – shalom – hos geldiniz – ahoj – kalos órisate – teple pryvitannya – namaste – karibu!
A warm welcome to you!
Winner of the European Diplôme d’Honneur award from the Fondation du Mérite Européen
Latest news from 11.10.2025 (further information in the current newsletters):
Dear members and donors, dear people interested in our association’s activities,
After the temporary ceasefire + hostage deal in the Middle East, we fervently hope for a ceasefire in Ukraine, as unrealistic as this is at the moment (for a summary, see the October newsletter in the archive) .
Successful fundraising campaign since 1.1.23:
545 T €
for Ukraine, Africa, Latin America, India, the Middle East, etc. As our donations are also declining overall, we will in future concentrate on the many threatened and disadvantaged people in the Middle East (ToN, monasteries, schools and universities in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jahalin Bedouins, Angel of Cultures etc., see bank details below).
| For reasons of space, all information on the famous Palestine song, the reason for and call to the 1st Crusade (930 years ago), the capture of Jerusalem and the causes of the backwardness of the Islamic world – also central to the current Middle East conflict and Precht & Lanz: pure unscientificity – and much more new on my website www.gregorschroeder.de |
Despite the temporary ceasefire and the prospect of more aid deliveries, the financial situation of many people in the Middle East remains catastrophic. The return of pilgrims/tourists is still a long way off.
Christian institutions, monasteries (e.g. the Birgittinnen), schools, universities, but also large parts of the Palestinian population in the West Bank, especially in Bethlehem, are facing ever greater financial difficulties or are even threatened with extinction.
| Important note on the facilitated ToN money transfer: On October 2, we once again transferred a large amount of money for the ToN to accounts of Germans who receive the money in cash from the ATM and pass it on to Daoud. We can transfer donations for |
Brief information on Daoud’s trip to Europe and the situation on the ToN (update from 11.10.)
 | Daoud Nassar (center) was in Europe from 8.9.-6.10.25 and held talks with church representatives and parliamentarians in France (e.g. with EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg), Germany (especially in Berlin at the Federal Foreign Office and with members of the Federal Parliament), England and Scotland (e.g. with parliamentarians and representatives of the Anglican Church) and Italy (Milan, Rome and Venice). Unfortunately, Pope Leo XIV had to cancel the meeting scheduled for |
(Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-XbPcQQhW8, Daoud’s lecture, 24.6.24, Berlin)
worth seeing
New: 3-minute ToN video from 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEHRIO784sM (German translation: click under the video at … more, display transcript, right-click on English (automatically generated) and left-click on translate into German )
Things remain quiet on the ToN, even though the threat posed by the settlers is increasing. The adjacent Tora school has been extended again. An asphalted road now leads from Route 60, which is increasingly reserved for settlers, to the
| Report by Beate from 15.9., who helped at the ToN as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) of the World Council of Churches. www.eappinetzwerk.de/der-gewaltlose-widerstand-geht-weiter/ |
There are currently 8 volunteers aged 20-75 working at the ToN. We are still urgently looking for adult volunteers who would like to help on the ToN for a longer period of time (registration on the website
www.tentofnations.com).
, volunteers will once again be able to help out there for longer periods.
With the help of all ToN supporters, we are endeavoring to launch a permanent initiative to save the ToN, among other things. Perhaps you also have important contacts/suggestions for us!
Your donations will also help to ensure that the many Christian institutions in Bethlehem/Jerusalem, and especially the Jahalin Bedouins, do not have to give up.
Therefore, once again my urgent request: Transfer a generous donation also for the Mount of Olives Monastery, the University of Bethlehem and the 5,000 Jahalin Bedouins who are to be forcibly resettled next to a garbage dump (see below legal costs + international aid) !!! |
The greatest concerns are still the famine, the 80% destruction of Gaza and the aggressive, forced settlement policy in the West Bank and its planned partition.
 | Layan Brejieh, who passed the German Abitur with a 1.0 at the German school abroad Talitha-Kumi in Bethlehem in 2024, is now studying medicine in Mannheim in the 3rd semester (Newsletter Oct. 24 in the archive), but unfortunately still does not have a scholarship. If she had done a Palestinian Abitur in Bethlehem (much worse quality!) or if she had been a Christian instead of a Muslim, she would have had a scholarship long ago, even with a poorer average grade. As her parents only earn 50% because of the Gaza war, they can hardly help Layan any more. That is why we (my wife and I) are currently supporting her privately financially and hope that she will receive a scholarship next year after all. She has been waiting since 16.9.24 for her visa to be extended for 2 years by the immigration office in Mannheim!!! |
 | George Al Sarras passed the German Abitur with a 1.9 at the German school abroad Talitha-Kumi in Bethlehem in 2025 and started studying molecular biology in Mainz on October 1. As a Christian, he has a better chance of getting a scholarship. His 1st attempt to leave Bethlehem failed. He already has a room and hopes to successfully overcome the many other formal bureaucratic hurdles. Here too, we had to pay € 8,000 privately as a security deposit(€ 12,000 for Layan). |
 | The teacher Rabeeha from Ramallah from the Secondary Girl’s School in the refugee camp (Newsletter October/2 2024) is still alive despite the extreme conditions. She is working part-time as a teacher again, as the schools there are only open for 2.5 days. Nevertheless, the situation in Ramallah is catastrophic and terribly stressful for everyone. They fervently hope that their suffering and existential hardships will finally come to an end. It is currently very difficult for tourists to travel to Ramallah. Help is impossible. |
What would the Holy Land be without Christian institutions?
Proposal for 3 other uses besides the ToN:
1. university in Bethlehem, doubling of donations, see above. 2nd Birgittinnen convent on the Öelberg + Protestant institutions in Bethlehem/Jerusalem, Christian schools, 3. Jahalin Bedouins, approx. 5,000 (car tire school) – threatened with expulsion (account in Jericho),
01.11.25: 19:30: 100 years of Hüsch, Paul-Gerhardt-Haus, Schulstr. 57, Sankt Augustin-NPL
Reciter: Christian Kercher, Beatrix Pluta (viola/piano) – with peace psalms
 | Hüsch, the grand master of cabaret with over 70 stage programs, would have turned 100 in May. His work remains alive and kicking – in the poems, songs, stories and peace psalms that Christian Kercher performs together with Beatrix Pluta on the grand piano. In their homage, all the roles from Hüsch’s playing time between 1925 and 2005 appear – traveling poet from the Lower Rhine, songwriter, comedian and admonisher, comforter and dreamer, preacher and doubter – peppered with biographical notes and virtuoso solos on piano and viola strings. |
Photo : © Gedenkseiten.de
Hüsch doesn’t just talk about God and the world, he met him on his bike, reads to him in heaven and also explains why the good Lord has left the church. Hüsch has also noted down
what the German driver says at the wheel. “I want to be a clown,” the versatile artist confessed. “I sing for the crazy ones, the ones who are knocked sideways.”
Christian Kercher (reciter and cabaret artist) has been touring Germany since 2006 with his homage to Hüsch, including Hüsch’s Peace Psalms and the poetry of Hilde Domin, Kurt Marti, Christian Morgenstern and Joachim Ringelnatz. With Wolfgang Borchert’s summer story ‘Schischyphusch’ as well as with the Christmas roses that bloom in the middle of winter: poetry between dance and jazz for Christmas.
Beatrix Pluta studied at the University of Music in Münster. She plays piano and viola with her trio “Schöner” and is a co-founder of the Kulturquartier Münster.
13.11.25: 4.8 T km long peace trek from the Brandenburg Gate with a large carriage parade to
. Link: friedenstreck.de/press-release-der-friedensglocken-pferdetreck-rollt-wieder-weiterfahrt-in-bulgarien-nach-vier-wochen-stillstand-2/
It would be wonderful if they could then usher in real peace in the Middle East.
17.11.25: 19:00: JIK general meeting at Haus Lauterbach in St. Augustin, Mühlenweg 11
13./14.12.25: Jerusalem – A look behind the scenes (2-day seminar at the Thomas Morus Academy in Bensberg with Prof. Katja Soennecken and Prof. Dieter Vieweger)
06.03.26: World Day of Prayer for Women Nigeria. The motto is: “Bring your burden”. The services are prepared worldwide by women from Nigeria who live in rural areas and are confronted with dangers and obstacles on their way to the fields.
28.3.-6.4.26 (approx.): 8-day preparatory trip to Israel-Palestine (Easter vacation, 4/5 participants – information to follow)
1.5.-3.5. 2026: JIK trip to Paris (only for active and potential JIK employees, information from me)
13.-17.5.2026: Katholikentag in Würzburg (with Daoud Nassar as speaker, among others)
10 – 18.7.26: planned new date for the visit of the youth group from Bethlehem
11.-16.7.26: New, attractive JIK cultural program (free tickets for members, info to follow)
15.07. 2026: possible new date for the Trialogue panel discussion in Sankt Augustin The aim of the Trialogue events is to talk about the Middle East and the consequences for Muslim/Jewish life in our country while recognizing the suffering of both sides.
17.10-1.11.26: Israel-Palestine-Jordan-trip (NRW-autumn vacation), 16 participants (from 18 years) – uncertain
We very much hope that this 1st trip since 7.10.23 will still take place.
Founded in 2011, our Sankt Augustin-based association has both a local and global focus and is committed to intercultural understanding, justice as well as sustainable development worldwide as a basis for peace.
- We would like to inspire adolescents for intercultural youth exchange with Israel-Palestine-Jordan through specially sponsored and inexpensive bilateral youth encounters.
- JIK promotes intercultural creative projects (music, theater, dance, art) with socially and otherwise disadvantaged young people, young talents, refugees in many countries as well as volunteer work in Christian institutions, e.g. in Palestine.
Art project in Bethlehem
Music project in Zanzibar
- We support 50 aid projects in Colombia, Afghanistan, India, Congo, Palestine, etc. in over 25 countries worldwide.
- Total JIK funding for all projects and fundraising campaigns since 2011: over € 2.5 million
With the help of the donations, tens of thousands of children and their families, as well as Christian institutions (monasteries, schools, etc. in Palestine, among others) in many countries that have fallen into great need as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the Middle East war, could and can be helped with food and medical aid as well as support in all areas of life.
Street children Colombia – Don Bosco
Afghanistan Aid – Caritas International
- We still need more people for our projects, people to accompany us on our trips, but also support through membership and of course especially donations for our many aid projects.
- Accompanying persons urgently needed for bilateral youth exchange with Palestine. We are not only looking for volunteers for the ToN and other employees for our projects, but also urgently for accompanying persons (e.g. religious teacher) for our bilateral youth encounters with Palestine from 2026, who would like to prepare and accompany these trips as leaders after participating in the trip in October 2026 and intensive JIK training. Applicants should be between 30 and 50 years old(preferably female), live in the Bonn – Leverkusen area, have good English skills and pedagogical experience in dealing with projects and adolescents, and preferably already be familiar with regional studies, the Middle East conflict and the 3 world religions. As a responsible manager from 2027, you will receive an expense allowance.
Participation in the following trips/two-sided youth encounters is welcome:
1. 28.3.-6.4.26 (approx.): Preparatory trip to Israel-Palestine (approx. 4/5 participants), small cost contribution from participants
2. 10-18.7.26: Visit of approx. 15 participants from Bethlehem in Bonn
3. Trip to Israel-Palestine-Jordan: 17.10. -01.11. 2026 (maximum 16 participants aged 18 and over)
Email applications to: schroedergregor@aol.com
Let yourself be inspired by the variety of our activities and take advantage of our offers by participating in international youth encounters, our creative projects, fundraising activities and/or by joining or becoming a member of us. As a member, you take part in all activities free of charge, have the opportunity to get free tickets for all cultural events from the JIK free ticket contingent and receive an early bird discount of €160 on trips.
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