Updates from the West Bank

As we move out of the holy month of Ramadan, Eid reminds us of the extraordinary resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of the ongoing horrors in Gaza and the West Bank.

In the West Bank alone, where Anar’s work is concentrated, over 40,000+ Palestinians have now been forcibly displaced by the Israeli military and settler violence. Every day, we witness more land confiscations. Access restrictions have intensified, with prolonged delays at checkpoints and new road gates and blocks installed. Bethlehem alone has 89 gates in and around it. The danger of travel is so significant that many Palestinian people can’t risk visiting their families in neighboring towns for many weeks.

As Anar’s ED Rami Khader recently reminded us, the children of refugees are now experiencing what their parents and grandparents faced years ago. They carry both today’s trauma and the generational traumas of the past.

Despite these harrowing circumstances, Anar continues to deepen and expand its extraordinary community-based psychosocial support and creative healing work. We are honored and moved at Healing to Hope to raise awareness about the visionary Palestinian-led, community-centered, arts-focused movement Anar is creating. Please read on to learn more about Anar’s work in context and consider contributing today to support Palestinian children and caregivers.

Anar’s Ongoing Work

A great deal has been happening in the past months at Anar. In Tulkarem and Nablus, where the need is profound after mass displacement, Anar has extended its programs so that counselors can support children and caregivers where they are—in schools, playgrounds, and other community spaces.

Anar has also begun its new partnership with Save the Children focused on mental health and psychosocial support for children who have experienced arrests and detention in Israeli prisons. This new program in Tulkarem, Nablus, and Hebron will center the healing and reintegration of these children, as well as educational support and vocational training when needed. Caregivers will also receive resources and guidance to care for children who have experienced the extreme violence of detention and arrest.

In addition, Anar is moving forward with a new Expressive Arts Unit. This unit, which will be built carefully over the next five years, is a deepening of the Makan program. It will focus on using creativity and the arts—including creative writing, puppets, and theater—as therapeutic interventions for children to express and process their feelings, emotions, and fears.

Finally, those who supported our fundraiser for a vehicle will be glad to know that the SUV has been chosen and the bid has gone through! Anar is now in the process with the Ministry of the Interior to register the vehicle under their organizational name for customs-free status. This vehicle will offer tremendous support for Anar, especially given the ongoing difficulty in traveling between communities.

Anar’s U.S. Tour in June

We are so pleased to announce that Healing to Hope is welcoming Anar Executive Director Rami Khader to the U.S. for a speaking tour June 10-30, 2025. Rami will make four main stops on his tour based on our existing networks: Atlanta (June 13-16), Chicago (June 17-18), Minneapolis (June 20-22), and the Bay Area/Sacramento/Chico (June 24-29). In each city and working with local partners, Healing to Hope will host speaking engagements, community gatherings, arts and music events, and fundraising opportunities to raise awareness about Anar’s vital work in Palestine and to offer ways attendees can get involved locally.

Our hope is that this tour will provide many meaningful, in-depth opportunities for supporters in the U.S. to learn more about Anar’s and Healing to Hope’s commitment to justice, hope, and healing for Palestinian children, caregivers, and communities.

Stay tuned for more specific information about events, dates, and venues in the weeks to come, and feel free to reach out to info@healingtohope.org with any questions.

Conversations that Inspire

Liza Rankow, friend of Anar and Healing to Hope, focused her March 16th Healing Conversations from the Front Lines of Activism blog post on a deeply moving conversation with Anar Executive Director Rami Khader. Read Liza’s thoughtful reflection and hear excerpts from the interview at her post Rami Khader: Resistance, Resilience & Love.

Thank You

Thank you for supporting the work of Healing to Hope and Anar to advance the well-being and resilience of Palestinian children and caregivers impacted by violence and oppression. We appreciate our entire community for committing to the movement for justice and healing in Palestine.