 In 1949, in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Pope Pius XII ) decided to focus relief efforts in Palestine, which fell under the administration of CNEWA.Temporary emergency operations continued as the region only further destabilized, while CNEWA expanded to Lebanon and Iraq in response to their own respective national crises.In June 2011, Monsignor John E. Kozar was appointed by Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, as President of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and President of the Mission.