Izzeldin Abuelaish
In a few weeks from now, I’m going to hear this Palestinian doctor speak. It will be for the second time in just a few months.
The reason I am going again is because to be in his presence is not just enlightening…it is to understand a bit more about the potential power of the human spirit.
I was reminded about this by my own family doctor who emailed me this morning. He said that despite the fact that his heart is heavy when he sees the state of our world today, he is encouraged by the resilience of some people.
One of those people is this Palestinian physician I am going to hear speak for the second time, Dr. Abuelaish.
Late in the afternoon of Jan. 16, 2009, 2 Israeli tank shells crashed into a bedroom in his Gaza apartment, killing three of his daughters—Bessan, Mayar and Aya—along with a niece, Noor.
“I have the right to feel angry,” says Abuelaish. “But I ask, ‘Is this the right way?’ So many people were expecting me to hate. My answer to them is I shall not hate.”
“Whom to hate?”
This modest 55-year-old gynecologist, who was born a Palestinian refugee and raised in poverty asks the question in all sincerity.
He has Israeli friends and asks if he should hate them for something their government did.
“Whom to Hate?”
He practices part time in an Israeli hospital near Gaza.
“Whom to Hate?”
“My Israeli colleagues?”
“Whom to Hate?”
“The Israeli babies I have delivered?”
His answer is that he will not hate. Rather he will try to understand, heal and to persuade others to do the same. This doctor represents a beacon of hope in a world that is all too prone to hate.
About Jim
Jim Reed
Journalist (ret)
Formerly Host and senior Correspondent for CTV's W5
Gemini Award Winner
