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The Olive Press

Your Ramadan Gift Can Make DOUBLE the Impact in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan

Apr 25, 2022

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“I’m excited to announce that two long-time Anera donors have offered to match all gifts made during Ramadan up to $10,000.”

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My Commitment to Gaza and to Supporting the People I Love

Apr 4, 2022

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My interest in Palestine goes back to 1994 when I went with my sociology colleagues after the first intifada had ended the prior year. I was reluctant to join the study they were hoping to do because I was busy with other areas of study, and the Middle East had not been on my radar….

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Anera Mourns the Death of Rabbi Everett Gendler

by Anera

Apr 4, 2022

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We mourn the loss of one of our cherished members of the Anera community: Rabbi Everett Gendler. Rabbi Gendler died on April 1, 2022 at the age of 93 in Massachusetts, where he lived with his wife, Mary. The rabbi’s life was an inspiration to all those who followed and knew him. Long active in…

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From Roller Skating to the Anera Board

Feb 7, 2022

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I was born and raised in the Middle East. In our household, we were told to eat our vegetables because there were Palestinian refugees with little on their plates. Every other year we went to Palestine for family vacation. One summer during college, I worked in Palestine. First, I helped out in an orphanage in…

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My Trip to Gaza

Feb 1, 2022

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My fascination with Gaza has grown within me since my early childhood years. Living in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, I grew up listening to my late grandfather and his circle of friends. They would congregate at his shop and reminisce about their travels to Gaza, Haifa and Akka as laborers and…

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Supporting Palestinian Children Through Stock Giving

Dec 29, 2021

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A career in investment banking leads to engagement with the Middle East I was born in Chicago over 91 years ago. I studied at Princeton University and then got an MBA from the University of Chicago. After my studies, I went to work for The First National Bank of Chicago. I worked my way up,…

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Connecting to My Grandparents’ Legacy Through Qualified Charitable Distributions

Nov 22, 2021

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Both of my maternal grandparents spent their formative years in Lebanon before emigrating to the United States, where they eventually met. My grandmother, Melia Kiame, and her older sister Emily attended a boarding school in Beirut run by German Lutherans. They also spent time in Schweir (Dour El Chouier) with their grandfather, who helped farmers…

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A Legacy of Supporting Education for the Marginalized

Oct 18, 2021

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I have spent most of my adult life in Minnesota and Alaska teaching English as a second language (ESL). As an ESL teacher, I was always curious about the places my students were from, and had a strong desire to explore them on my own. My first teaching experience abroad was at the University of…

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Dr. Vicken Kalbian: a Steadfast Friend to Anera and to Palestinians

by Anera

Sep 7, 2021

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Anera is mourning the death of Dr. Vicken Kalbian, who died on Friday, September 2, 2021, at the age of 96. His influence and leadership has been seminal to Anera for over four decades. Long a pillar of Jerusalem’s medical community and one of its most celebrated and accomplished physicians, Vicken maintained his commitment to…

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From Volunteering to Donating, There are Many Ways to Support Opportunity for Palestinians

Aug 26, 2021

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In the late 1970s I spent two and a half years volunteering in Palestine, drawing on my professional background in agricultural pest control to help support farm and garden projects. I had worked on a farm growing up and later studied biology and earned a master’s degree in entomology so I was able to make…

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