Later this morning, we went to Archbishop Chacour's school and church in Ibilin, another small village town in the Galillee. Ibilin was just a small town in 1965 when then Father Chacour was assigned there. Today it is a growing village with first-rate schools, thanks in large part to Archbishop Chacour, who has expanded the buildings to include education through the high school level. The children were very friendly, eager to meet us and practice their English. The school reminds Allan of DLS and Carondolet with strong athletics and emphasis on academics, and a high rate of college entrance among its students. The students learn Arabic, Hebrew, and English compared to the Hebrew schools in the region where they do not teach Arabic. There is still discrimination at the local swimming pool, where they cannot speak Arabic for fear of being excluded. Before the war with Lebanon the school had Jewish students in the mix, but now this Melkite Roman Catholic high school has a 70% Muslim and 30 % Christian population.
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