A couple of weeks ago we published Mohamad Fahili’s appeal in e-light and Highlight. This letter was received from him on 3 June. In a time of such fear and sadness, it is heart-warming to hear from him in this vein.

My dear Friends

Some weeks ago, I wrote to ask for your help with an emergency funding appeal. I was overwhelmed and deeply moved by the immediacy of the generous support we received. It showed me that your commitment to the Clore Centre is such that, in spite of the stresses of COVID-19, we remain important to you. Within hours, we were told of donations coming in. So many of you wanted to help get the Centre up and running after having been forced to close during the first two months of the pandemic.

On May 10th we tentatively opened our doors. Would families come? Would they be afraid? Would any be able to pay? On that first day, 35 parents brought their young children back to Daycare so they could return to work. They felt safe and they discovered that, through your generosity, subsidies were available to alleviate some of their financial worries. It was a joyous week as each day saw more families joining, more classes re-starting and a kind of normality returning. As I write we have 65 families sending their children to our daycare facility – more than before – and many more joining our after-school programmes.

Around the world we continue to deal with the pandemic and the frightening implications of not seeing our neighbours as equal citizens. I am glad to say that, at least in our little corner of Israel, our arms and hearts are open to all.

Thank you for enabling us to re-open so that, together, we can continue to make a difference.

Mohammad Fahili.

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Mohammad Fahili
Director – Sir Charles Clore Jewish-Arab Community Center
+972 50 557 3797