The returning Fall 2017 Israel/Palestine group shares reflections and adventures from their experiences in Israel/Palestine this semester.

Participants in the May 2015 Seminary Cross-Cultural to Israel/Palestine engage us in worship, stories of their experience, and prayer.

Izzeldin Abuelaish, often referred to as “the Gaza Doctor” in the media, is a Palestinian medical doctor and infertility specialist who has dedicated his life to peace in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Abuelaish has overcome many personal hardships, including poverty and violence, to become one of the most outspoken, prominent and beloved educators and public speakers on peace and development in the Middle East. His personal doctrine is that hate is not a response to war. Rather, open communication, understanding and compassion are the tools to bridge the divide between Israeli and Palestinian interests. “All can live in harmony,” he says. “And all can reach their full potentials spiritually, emotionally, physically and intellectually.”

Dr. Abuelaish received his elementary, preparatory and secondary educations in the refugee camp school system in Jabalia, Gaza. As a child and as an adult, he and his family endured the dismal and severely impoverished conditions of the refugee camp, as well as the constant humiliation and inhumanity of the siege and its associated checkpoints and travel restrictions.

At all times, Dr. Abuelaish strived to maintain a balanced and positive perspective toward his experiences and the Israeli people, knowing that the latter are not representative of the sentiments that fuel one of the world’s longest conflicts and the conflict that threatens overall world security.

Dr. Abuelaish, who has worked in Israeli hospitals caring for patients and delivering babies of both Palestinian and Israeli descent, has always said that all people, regardless of their religious and political beliefs, are equal, deserve access to quality education and health care, and should have every opportunity to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives.

From a young age, Dr. Abuelaish set his sights on becoming a doctor and studied hard to achieve his dream, despite having to work outside his profession to support both himself and his family. He eventually garnered a scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Cairo. Following this, he obtained a diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology with the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of London. He later completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Saroka Hospital in Israel, followed by further study in fetal medicine and genetics at V. Buzzi Hospital in Milan, Italy and Erasme Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. He then went on to earn his Master’s degree in Public Health, Health Policy and Management at Harvard University. Dr. Abuelaish was the first Palestinian doctor to receive a staff position at an Israeli hospital. For many years, he worked as a senior researcher at the Gertner Institute in Sheba hospital in Israel.

On January 16, 2009, tragedy struck when an Israeli tank shelled his home in Gaza and killed three of his daughters, Bessan, 21, Mayar, 15 and Aya, 13, and his niece Noor, 17. This hearbreaking loss came only four months after losing his wife to cancer. Rather than retreat into despair, he deepened his resolve to become a beacon of hope for peace and reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis. In 2010 his memoir I Shall Not Hate: a Gaza Doctor’s Journey became an instant best seller and has been translated into 16 languages. He has travelled all over the world with his message of peace through non-violence and is a nominee for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize for the third consecutive year.

Dr. Abuelaish has won many awards, including the 2009 recipient of the Stavros Niarchos Prize for Survivorship, the 2009 Search for Common Ground Award, the 2009 Middle East Institute Award, the 2010 Uncommon Courage Award from the Centre for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding at Queen’s College (New York), and the 2010 Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award of Canada. He has also been named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2009 and again in 2010 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan. He was one of the three finalists for the 2009 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. He has received honorary degrees from Queen’s University, the University of Manitoba and the University of Western Ontario, and was recently appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour.
Dr. Abuelaish believes that doctors can act as messengers of peace, and work toward bridging the divide between people in conflict zones everywhere. He believes that the real enemy, not only between Palestinian and Israeli but in all conflicts, is ignorance, the dehumanization of others and an inability to understand and communicate with others. He believes the future must be about tolerance, dignity, respect and embracing our universal humanity and interconnectedness.

Currently, Dr. Abuelaish is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is teaching three courses in public health: Women’s Health in Countries of Conflict, Health as an Engine for the Journey to Peace, and International Perspectives on Health Services Management. These courses center on understanding the underpinnings of social and political conflict, and providing tangible and pragmatic ways to promote health as a strategy to building peace.

Dr. Abuelaish is the Founder and President of the Daughters for Life Foundation, a Canadian charity that provides awards and scholarships to young women in the Middle East in memory of his slain daughters. His aim in establishing the Foundation was to give other young women the opportunity to fulfill his daughters’ dreams for an educated future as agents of change in the journey towards peace.

A typical Western view is that Palestinian Christians feel threatened by Muslims, but the polling data shows that Palestinian Christians are emigrating because of hardships caused by the Israeli occupation. How does Christian Zionism impact the daily lives of Palestinians, and how has it created a disconnect between American churches and Palestinian Christians? What can we do to build relationships both here and there?

Salim Munayer is an Arab-Palestinian Christian whose family was forced to flee their home, Lydda-Lod, in 1948. Like the Anabaptist/Baptist/Free Church Tradition, Salim’s Theology of Reconciliation offers a third way between the bipolar split of the western church’s conservative evangelicalism and protestant liberalism. Salim is on faculty at Bethlehem Bible College and is director of Musalaha – a dynamic peace-building program based out of Jerusalem.

From Salim’s perspective, “Conservative Western evangelicals tend to see the Middle East through the lens of religion. To many Westerners, Islam is frequently viewed as a threat since it is distinctively different and foreign in its expression. Islam is often perceived as anti-Christian, and the majority of problems in the Middle East are linked to Islam’s dominance in the region. These perceptions can lead to fear of Muslims, sometimes resulting in negative and racist attitudes toward Arab or Muslim people. At the other end of the spectrum, many liberal churches see current events in the Middle East as a byproduct of social changes such as modernization and urbanization, and they see radical Islam as a result of colonialism and imperialism…”

Salim’s theology is rooted in the reconciling work of Jesus on the cross. Salim’s mission is focused on building and reconciling relationships and, according to Salim, “most of Musalaha’s reconciliation work is between Israeli Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians.”

Check out this .

For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement,540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu

Dr. Salim Munayer, Director of .

The Middle East is fraught with polarization. Yet in the midst of conflicts churches are often recognized as communities of forgiveness and reconciliation. For Dr. Salim Munayer bearing witness to the Gospel of reconciliation within the conflict is his passion. In this Chapel Gathering in the Seminary, he speaks about this enormously challenging calling.
Salim Munayer is an Arab-Palestinian Christian whose family was forced to flee their home, Lydda-Lod, in 1948. Like the Anabaptist/Baptist/Free Church Tradition, Salim’s Theology of Reconciliation offers a third way between the bipolar split of the western church’s conservative evangelicalism and protestant liberalism. Salim is on faculty at Bethlehem Bible College and is director of Musalaha – a dynamic peace-building program based out of Jerusalem.

On Musalaha’s homepage Salim says: “Conservative Western evangelicals tend to see the Middle East through the lens of religion. To many Westerners, Islam is frequently viewed as a threat since it is distinctively different and foreign in its expression. Islam is often perceived as anti-Christian, and the majority of problems in the Middle East are linked to Islam’s dominance in the region. These perceptions can lead to fear of Muslims, sometimes resulting in negative and racist attitudes toward Arab or Muslim people. At the other end of the spectrum, many liberal churches see current events in the Middle East as a byproduct of social changes such as modernization and urbanization, and they see radical Islam as a result of colonialism and imperialism…”

Salim’s theology is rooted in the reconciling work of Jesus on the cross. Salim’s mission is focused on building and reconciling relationships and, according to Salim, “most of Musalaha’s reconciliation work is between Israeli Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians.”

The entire campus community is invited to every chapel service on campus. Eastern Mennonite Seminary hosts chapel gatherings in Martin Chapel every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 11:00.

Every other May, a cross-cultural study group goes from Eastern Mennonite Seminary to Israel/Palestine.  This chapel contains short stories and reflections from seven participants from May, 2013:

Meditations on people and places–Anita Laura Fonseca

Reconciling Palestinian/Western land awareness–Linda Matheny

Let the little children come unto me in Hebron–Kevin A. Clark

Refusing to be enemies–Dorothy Jean Weaver

Reflection on the Dead Sea: “Go in Peace”–LaDawn Knicely

Conversations with Sami–Drew Ensz

Hope in the midst of disorientation–Darlene Wilkins.

The returning Spring 2013 Middle East shares reflections and adventures from their experiences in the Middle East this semester.

Linford Stutzman interviews Rami Kassis, drawing out stories and themes from years of working with 91¶ĚĘÓƵ students visiting and learning in the Middle East with the cross-cultural program. Rami Kassis serves as Executive Director of the Alternative Tourism Group Study Center in Beit Sahour, Palestine. Linford Stutzman serves as Professor of Culture and Mission in the 91¶ĚĘÓƵ Bible & Religion Department.

Lucy Camel, of SEMILLA/CASAS in Guatemala, also brings greetings and shares a few words. This chapel contributes to celebrating 30 years of the cross-cultural program during homecoming weekend with the theme, “Crossing Borders, Coming Home.”