‘It aligns with justice, it sustains human dignity and it has strengthened our long-term partnership’
Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem tells the PC(USA) delegation what the denomination’s partnership means to Palestinians
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — “A new world order is being shaped based on new sets of principles that undermine preceding norms in international relations,” was the first sentence out of the mouth of Dr. Jad Isaac, director general of the Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem, which earlier this month hosted a six-member delegation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
ARIJ is a Palestinian institution that conducts research on agriculture, the environment, land use and water. “The United States is accelerating its domination of world affairs,” Isaac said. “Attempts to create a multipolar world are growing but not effective so far. The role of the European Union will be crucial.”
For 12 days this month, members of the delegation led by the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Unified Agency, met with PC(USA) partners in Jordan and Israel-Palestine.
“Liberal Jews are leaving the country,” Isaac pointed out. “This is not the land they desired to build.” He said that the West Bank and the surrounding region “exemplifies the organic and destructive relationship between armed conflict and environmental degradation. The Palestine environment has become one of the prime casualties of the prolonged Israeli occupation. This was once described as a land of milk and honey.”
Gaza is home to 100,000 people per square kilometer. It’s the most densely packed area of the world, he noted.
“I would like the PC(USA) to adopt a movement of environmental and planet justice,” Isaac said. “It might be a way to bring people together — civil society, churches and what is left of the United Nations. I would be more than happy if we could put our hands together and form this coalition.”
The environmental impact and the human toll of the war in Gaza has been measured, he said
- 60 million tons of construction debris, with 200,000 tons of explosives used
- 268,000 housing units destroyed, with another 148,000 units heavily damaged
- 835 mosques have been destroyed, and three churches were targeted
- 208 significant architectural sites were destroyed, and 40 cemeteries were desecrated
- 3,000 kilometers of Gaza’s road network has been destroyed
- Fewer than 500 Christians remain in Gaza, Isaac said. At one time, 7,000 lived there.
- Nearly half of Gazans get less than 6 liters of water per day for drinking and cooking.
- Only 39% of Gaza’s hospitals are even partially functional
- 12,500 cancer patients there face death due to lack of treatment
- 100% of Gaza’s 1.98 million people face high levels of food insecurity
- One million children in Gaza require mental health help. “That’s where I would put the money,” Isaac told the delegation. “They will be scarred for a long time.”
- 1.5% of Gaza’s cropland is undamaged and accessible. “We have been in touch, and they say, ‘bring seeds,’” he said.
- Nearly three-fourths of Gaza’s fishing fleet has been destroyed, eliminating a key protein source.
- Israel has suspended 40 major international aid groups from operating there.
The population of Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is approaching one million. Land has been taken from hundreds of thousands of people, including Christians, Isaac said.
“I don’t mind having an Israeli [living] next to me, but not a settler,” he said. Nearly 1,100 Palestinian structures were demolished in 2025, a record, he said.
“My fear with Mr. Trump is, we are moving from decolonization to international colonization of Palestine,” he said.
On the plus side, “our partnership with the PC(USA) is flourishing,” said Nader S. Hrimat, deputy director general of ARIJ. He thanked the denomination for seed money “that can go to needed areas.”
ARIJ uses agricultural methods including hydroponics to boost the region’s food source. “We have vertical buildings,” Hrimat said, “and we encourage rooftop agriculture.”
ARIJ has helped implement emergency drought and fire risk reduction, and this year “there was not a single fire in Bethlehem.” A $25,000 grant from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is helping to create “good environmental cooperation” among schools and municipalities.
“Getting $25,000 was like getting $1 million,” he said. “It came at the right time. It’s not a matter of how much money; it’s selecting the right need.”
There’s “added value” with such grants, Hrimat said. “It is faith-based solidarity with Palestinian communities,” he said. “It aligns with justice, it sustains human dignity and it has strengthened our long-term partnership.”
“It is bringing knowledge to practice,” Hrimat said.
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