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Remembering our own lost to war & terror

CMJ USA • April 14, 2021

Israel celebrates Independence Day on Iyar 5 (which falls in April or May). However, the day before the fireworks and street parties, all Israel falls silent on Iyar 4 — Yom Hazikaron , Memorial Day — to remember fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks.

The CMJ community, continuously in the Holy Land since 1830s, and Christ Church Jerusalem (est. 1849) has lost members due to war and terror. We offer an incomplete list and hope to update it as we rediscover the names and stories of others.

Freeda Hishmeh (1937) was the wife of an Arab Christian who served as a CMJ evangelist in Jaffa. Freeda was killed in Jerusalem by terrorist in November 1937.

A. Davidson (1939) was a Hebrew Christian who served as the verger at Christ Church Jerusalem in the late 1930s. He was shot by terrorists on Jaffa Road in 1939 and died of his wounds in 1941.

Hilda Andersson, R.N. (1948) was a Swedish medical missionary who served in China from 1918-1927 on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America. She then moved to Jerusalem, bought land on the Mount of Olives, and opened Svenskbo , a Christian guest house. She ran a hospital and mission for the poor among the Arabs and also supported the Jews’ efforts to establish their own state. Tensions rose in 1948 as British rule in Palestine was being dismantled. Pressured and threatened, she tried to leave the country, but visa issues delayed her. On Sunday, April 25, on the way home from St. George Cathedral, she was shot to death in the Kidron Valley. (Wikipedia)

Mildred Marston (1948) worked for CMJ as a teacher at the Girl’s College. Mildred and a colleague were on their way to St. George’s Cathedral on Easter morning (March 28) when there was a sudden burst of gunfire. The companion threw herself on the ground and was unhurt. However, the sniper fire struck and killed Mildred (as reported by Hannah Hurnard , author of Hinds’ Feet on High Places ).

Joan M. Thompson (1948) was the Acting Deputy Director of the British Department of Social Welfare. She attended Mildred Marston’s funeral on Easter Monday, according to Hannah Hurnard. Joan was scheduled to leave within days but was shot and killed by terrorists on Tuesday, March 30.

Barbara P. Burke (1991) from Sydney, Australia, worked for Christian Friends of Israel. She was killed by terrorists on the Mount of Olives on May 23.