PROGRAM DATES AND TIME LISTED AT THE BOTTOM.
A global expert on “Hatred as a
Contagious and Destructive Disease” will be brought to San Antonio by the
Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Office of the Sisters of Charity of
the Incarnate Word. In the 1800’s, when ten percent of the population of San
Antonio had died of contagious diseases, the Incarnate Word Sisters started the
first public health care in response to the plea of the mayor. In that
tradition of care for life, the Sisters host Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a
Professor in the Global Health Division - Dalla Lana School of Public
Health, University of Toronto https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/abuelaish-izzeldin/
Prof. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a
Palestinian Canadian physician and an internationally recognized human rights
and inspirational peace activist devoted to advancing health and educational
opportunities for women and girls in the Middle East. Prof. Izzeldin Abuelaish was born and raised in
Jabalia Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip. Through his work, he has experienced
firsthand the impacts of conflict in countries like Palestine, Egypt, Israel,
Uganda, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia. His experience working as both an
insider and outsider to conflict has led him to believe that doctors are
particularly well-poised to serve as peacemakers, based on the moral doctrine
of their profession. Health and medicine are human equalizers, socializers,
harmonizers and stabilizers.
Dr. Abuelaish (third from the right) with San Antonio people who attended the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates where he spoke.
Prof. Abuelaish has overcome many
personal hardships, including poverty, violence, and the horrific tragedy of
his three daughters’ and niece’s deaths in the 2009 Gaza War. He continues to
live up to the description bestowed upon him by an Israeli colleague, as a
“magical, secret bridge between Israelis and Palestinians” and in the world. He
is now one of the most outspoken, prominent, and beloved researchers, educators
and public speakers on peace and development in the Middle East. He holds
twenty honorary doctorates and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
five times.
Elis Wiesel, Nobel Peace Laureate, wrote of Dr. Abuelaish book, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, "This story is a necessary lesson against hatred and revenge."
Dr. Abuelaish with Teo Reyes, Assistant Director of the UIW Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability named for Sister Dot Ettling.
As President Jimmy Carter put it, “In this book, Dr. Abuelaish has expressed a remarkable commitment to forgiveness and reconciliation that describes the foundation for a permanent peace in the Holy Land.”
The book shares the doctor’s life
story as a Gazan doctor growing up in a refugee camp, persisting in getting
educated, obtaining a degree from Harvard, securing a position in an Israeli
hospital and continuously crossing from Gaza to Israel. During this time he
grew in recognizing the humanity of Israelis, developing his faith as a Muslim,
and establishing his own family in Gaza.
Then, on January 16, 2009, he
suffered horrendous loss when an Israeli tank shelled his home, killing three
of his daughters and a niece, only months after having lost his wife to
disease.
Despite this horrendous pain and
grief, Dr. Abuelaish did not seek revenge or harbor hatred for those who were
responsible for the deaths of his daughters and niece, and so many others. He
started the foundation Daughters for Life to help educate young women of the
Middle East. About – Daughters for Life Foundation. He emphasizes that educated
women are needed as leaders to help create a more justice and peaceful
future. The Incarnate Word Sisters
firmly believe in the importance of education and leadership training for girls
and women.
Dr. Abuelaish with Jacky Zaval Aguila of the UIW Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
We bring Dr. Abuelaish with the hope that we may get donations for a scholarship for Daughters for Life, that a young
woman from the Middle East may study in San Antonio.
CONFIRMED Presentation: Feb. 19, Wednesday, Executive Book Review, "I Shall Not Hate" by Dr. Abuelaish, 5:30 PM at CHRISTUS Heritage Hall at the Village at Incarnate Word
DATES, TIMES, AND PLACES FOR DR. ABUELAISH'S OTHER PRESENTATIONS WILL BE POSTED HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
These are some of the growing plans:
Multiple presentations at the University of the Incarnate Word and at the Peace Center at Northwest Vista College at various times during the week starting, Feb. 17.
Feb. 16, Sunday afternoon, 3 PM, Peace Potluck with SA Peace Center
Feb. 17, Doctors’ panel at UT Health
Feb. 17 or 18 evening - Gala to raise funds for a Daughters for Life local scholarship
Feb. 19 Rotary Club presentation, noon-time
CONFIRMED: Executive Book Review, "I Shall Not Hate" by Dr. Abuelaish, 5:30 PM at CHRISTUS Heritage Hall at the Village at Incarnate Word
Feb. 20 @TheIntersection; 8-8:30 AM virtual
CHRISTUS Children's Hospital, 12 noon livestreamed presentation.
Contact: Sister Martha Ann Kirk kirk@uiwtx.edu 210-883-5934
