IQFA Autumn newsletter 2025
Christmas Eve
A tale of two cities
As we in Ireland, prepare for our Christmas Day celebrations, we have just received news from a group we in Irish Quaker Faith in Action know well. Abdeljalil Ghorab is the director of the Nour EL Marifa el Kharia School in Nusirat, Gaza, unfortunately, his house was destroyed when it was targeted last night in a land offensive. Thankfully he survived and sent this video of what remains of his home.
In the video, he says “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to God.” As he surveys his now destroyed home.
Abdeljalil told Richard in a WhatsApp message “that by a miracle of God he and his family all survived.”
Noor Al-Marifa is an independent, non-profit, non- partisan and charitable organization founded in 2000 in the Gaza Strip. The main goal of the Noor Al-Marifa association is to support and develop the abilities of Palestinian students like talented, outstanding, disabled and students with learning difficulties. The most important right from NMA’s point of view is to grant safe access to education where all children can enjoy their right to education. The need for their work is evident everywhere in Gaza, how the directors and staff still manage to perform their daily tasks, while living in the centre of a conflict is amazing.
In the second clip, Abdeljalil’s nephew is singing the call to prayer with the debris of what used to be a thriving neighbourhood all around. The scale of the destruction and damage is immense.
