Transcending tragedy

KARIN KLOOSTERMAN ISRAEL21C

As John Lennon famously put it, everyone’s saying “give peace a chance.” In reality, people in the mixed-up, shook-up, desperately fed-up Middle East know that brokering peace can only be done through individual connections.

This is the way a Palestinian doctor and grieving father is giving peace a chance, through a new scholarship fund for Middle East college education, including in Israel. In 2009, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a peace-promoting obstetrician working in Israel, was in his Gaza home when a shell fired from Israel landed on the house, killing three of his daughters – Bessan, Mayar and Aya. The tragic news had people on both sides of the conflict in anguish, because those who knew Abuelaish understood that he had made it his mission to do more than talk about peace; he worked towards it through his work in medicine.

Today, Abuelaish lives in Toronto, where he teaches public health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Recently, he established a scholarship in memory of his children as part of his Daughters for Life Foundation. Launched following the publication of his book I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey, the fund is targeted at young women of any background studying in the Middle East. The foundation also works toward evaluating leadership programs on health and education in the region.

In total, some 35 awards will be granted at 10 universities across the Middle East. Daughters for Life is unique in that it was founded by a Palestinian and includes Israel in the list of its recipients. The scholarships are designated for women learning in the areas of medicine, journalism, business, law or education – fields in which Abuelaish’s girls were interested. In Israel, the fund will provide three $1,000 scholarships to students of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beersheba. Awards also will be distributed by the University of Haifa. Other eligible countries are Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and the Palestinian territories.

“Only someone with the incredible personality of Izzeldin, with his deep commitment to bridging the two peoples, would be able to turn his own personal tragedy into such a positive force,” said BGU president Prof. Rivka Carmi at the launch of the scholarship on June 2.

Among the BGU recipients are Amalya Ze’evi from Holon, studying politics and society; Ma’ayan Givoni, from Ramat Yishai, working on product innovation in business; and second-year medical student Safa Abu Hani from the Bedouin village of Rahat.

BGU spokeswoman Faye Bittker explained that Abuelaish’s first medical fellowship was at Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, BGU’s teaching hospital, where he conducted research and taught at its medical school. When the tragedy hit, Abuelaish was working at the Chaim Sheba Medical Centre at Tel Hashomer, a connection brokered through Soroka.

Scholarship recipient Abu Hani said that the award is meaningful for more than the money, which will only pay a fraction of her medical school costs. “It means a lot to me because, as you see, it is a symbol. The issue here is that I was chosen to take this scholarship. It’s given to girls that are volunteers, and I am so happy that they picked me – I’ve volunteered so many years at Soroka, working with hospitalized children. Sometimes they are from Gaza, but that’s not the issue. We help the kids and [play] with them, helping them mentally,” she said.

Even before being awarded the scholarship, Abu Hani had heard of Abuelaish and his work as an obstetrician/gynecologist. “When they called me to receive this scholarship, to know he was the one that gave us the scholarship, this made me very happy. It was an honor,” she said. “It really inspires me a lot. It’s in my mind all the time that I really want to help others like he has helped me. It doesn’t matter where they come from, just to help others.”

As the foundation’s website states, “When female values are better represented through leadership at all levels of society, overall values will change and life will improve in the Gaza Strip, in Palestine as a whole, in Israel, and throughout the Middle East.”

Israel21C is a nonprofit educational foundation with a mission to focus media and public attention on the 21st-century Israel that exists beyond the conflict. For more, or to donate, visit israel21c.org.

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