GEORGE HLEIS
"I finished studying psychology last year at the Hebrew University... right there on the Mount of Olives."
GEORGE HLEIS
"My name is George, I'm 23 years old, I live in the Christian quarter of the Old Town, I'm a Catholic Christian."
The objective is clear: to allow local Christians to study in their own land, to prevent them from deciding to move abroad to study and then, possibly, to live.
Among the many ways in which the Custody of the Holy Land is committed to supporting the local Christian population are scholarships, especially those intended to finance the university studies of young people.
GEORGE HLEIS
"There are many young people who do not like the current situation, they would like to go abroad to find better opportunities. I also thought about going abroad, to study theology in the United States, but I love the land of Jesus, I love being in the land where Jesus lived. If all the Christians go away, no one will stay here."
Br RAMZI SIDAWI, ofm
Bursar - Custody of the Holy Land
"In most cases, those who went to study abroad never came back to live here again. The Custody wants to help all people to stay in this country, especially young Christians. The first step was to offer them the ordinary school curriculum at a low price through our schools, the second step is universities."
Each year a total of 500 scholarships are awarded, supported by two different programs. Economics, Science, Medicine and Engineering are the most sought-after courses of study.
Br RAMZI SIDAWI, ofm
Bursar - Custody of the Holy Land
"Our students today are open to all universities: we have noticed in recent years that there is an increasing tendency on the part of our Christian students in Jerusalem to go to the Jewish University or at least to the Jewish world of Israel. But there is still openness also to Palestinian universities, especially the universities of Bethlehem, Birzeit and Jenin for the specializations they offer. Here, what attracts young people the most are the specializations, and then the ease of finding work."
