PYM decides on the spot to provide $50,000 to reconstruct Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse and commits to further fundraising. PYM’s support leads to the creation of the Friends International Center in Ramallah, which operates at the Meetinghouse from 2004 to 2013 and comes to host more than 4,000 persons a year for lectures, book readings, and concerts, including many visiting foreign groups seeking a better understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The Center, its mission statement says, “exists to unite in one place: a space for sacred worship after the manner of Friends to which all are welcome; a safe and supportive environment in which residents in Ramallah can come together to work toward a better future in an atmosphere of faith and hope; and a vehicle through which Friends and other people of goodwill can connect with and provide support to those in the region who are striving to build a future of peace and justice.
The Center becomes one of the few places in Ramallah and the West Bank where sympathetic Israelis can publicly address Palestinian audiences.
