MIDTOWN MANHATTAN — When Holy Family Church in Gaza, which was heavily damaged during an Israeli strike on July 17, is eventually rebuilt, it will be thanks in part to Catholic and Jewish leaders thousands of miles away in New York.
In a spirit of interreligious cooperation, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) has donated $25,000 to the Archdiocese of New York, which will work with the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) to help Holy Family rebuild.
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Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, is also chairman of CNEWA’s board of trustees. In a statement, CNEWA said the $25,000 would be put to good use “to assist in the rehabilitation of Gaza’s Holy Family church-compound and community.”
Holy Family — the only Catholic church in Gaza — is still standing after the strike, but several windows were shattered and sustained smoke damage to its walls. Three people, including the church’s janitor, were killed in the strike. Nine people were injured, among them the church’s pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
The Israeli government, which conducted an inquiry into the airstrike, said the church was hit by mistake after munitions went awry.
The decision to donate toward the rebuilding effort was an easy one, said Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs for the AJC.
“We did it for two reasons. First, so that we could help people in need. And second, to make a statement that although our primary responsibility and concern is our support for the safety and security of the State of Israel and the Jewish people as they battle an atrocious enemy in Hamas, that we also had space for the innocents who are suffering because of the ravages of war,” he said.
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Giving the funds to the archdiocese made perfect sense, Rabbi Marans added.
“We have a very close relationship with the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and we thought that it would be best to make the donation to our closest Catholic partner,” he explained.
Cardinal Dolan, in a statement of his own, noted that “As Christians and Jews who stand in solidarity for those who are suffering, we strive to be people of hope, and AJC’s donation toward the rehabilitation of the community in Gaza is a hope-filled sign.”
Father Ryan Muldoon, director of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue for the archdiocese, wasn’t surprised by the donation.
“That I can count on my colleagues at AJC to come through in a challenging moment is something I take for granted. But I am so glad that the world gets to see what I know to be the case: that AJC is committed both in word and in deed to the cause of peace, justice, and the flourishing of Jewish-Catholic relations,” he said.
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In addition to its role as the only Catholic church in Gaza, Holy Family serves as a shelter for hundreds of Palestinians seeking a haven from the war.
The late Pope Francis used to call Father Romanelli every day on the phone to check on how things were going and to express his solidarity with the people there.
In the aftermath of the deadly airstrike, Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire and expressed support for Holy Family Church.
“I assure the parish community of my spiritual closeness,” the Holy Father wrote on X.
I am deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in #Gaza. I assure the parish community of my spiritual closeness. I commend the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, and pray for…
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) July 17, 2025