On March 21, 2002 the Clerk of Ramallah Monthly Meeting, Jean Zaru, gave a plenary address entitled “A Testimony of Suffering and Hope” at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s annual session. This brought Friends of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and North Carolina Yearly Meetings to raise funds not only to restore the meetinghouse but also establish the Friends International Center in Ramallah. The Center provides meeting space for groups in keeping with its vision to “be a witness to hope and reconciliation … [and] to express the deepest values and highest aspirations of the Quaker faith.”

Because of Jean’s wide circle of friends and admirers from around the world, including especially those from the religious communities, many international groups and individuals come to Ramallah to visit with Jean. FICR now provides a meeting space for these groups and many others as well. In 2005 the Center was utilized by Amira Haas (a leading Israeli journalist), Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Al Haq (a human rights organization), Jerusalem Representatives of the Ameri-can Friends Service Committee, and Holy Land Trust (a Palestinian group utilizing non-violent resistance to the occupation).

Now this spring Kathy Bergen, currently head of the Middle East Peace Building Unit of AFSC, will take up the position of Program Coordinator of FICR. She’ll reside in the annex of the meetinghouse. Kathy has been with AFSC for twelve years and prior to that served about a decade in Palestine for the Mennonite Central Committee. Under Kathy’s able leadership FICR is bound to be even more active in the peace-making area of Palestinian life.