To return to the new Peace Now website click here.

AUDIO NOW: Izzeldin Abuelaish speaks to APN

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish speaks about loss and hope with Ori Nir at an APN-sponsored forum in Washington, DC.
LISTEN to the conversation


Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician who lost three of his daughters in Israel's military operation in Gaza last January, has become - for Israelis and Palestinians alike - an icon of hope for peace and reconciliation.  In recognition of his tireless efforts to build bridges in the medical field and on behalf of peace for the Palestinian and Israeli people, Dr. Abuelaish has been nominated for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Abuelaish, a 53-year-old obstetrician specializing in treating infertility, has been a unique figure in Israeli-Palestinian relations for years, working in Israeli hospitals with Israeli doctors, treating Israeli and Palestinian patients, and using his contacts to arrange for Gazans to be treated in Israel. He spoke out against violence and worked hard to spread the humanistic values in which he so strongly believes on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide. An Israeli medical colleague depicted him as a "magical, secret bridge between Israelis and Palestinians."

Throughout Israel's operation in Gaza last January, Abuelaish was frequently interviewed on Israeli radio and television stations, putting a human face on the suffering of civilians caught between Israeli soldiers and Hamas guerillas.

Then, on January 16th, an Israeli tank shell shattered his Jabalia refugee camp home, killing three of his eight children, daughters Bisan (20) Mayar (15) and Aya (13), as well as his 17-year-old niece Nur. Another daughter, Shadar (17) was badly injured.

The drama that followed was broadcast live on Israeli television, bringing - for the first time -the lethal toll that the Gaza war was taking on Gaza's civilian population into the living rooms of Israelis. Israelis heard Abuelaish pleading over the phone with his friend, Channel 10's Shlomi Eldar, to arrange for ambulances to reach his home. The broken voice of a man of peace who had just lost three daughters is etched in the minds of many in Israel and around the world.

His horrific tragedy did not harden Abuelaish's heart, neither did it weaken his resolve to act for peace. Admirably, Abuelaish focuses not on his personal tragedy or even on the predicament of his people. Rather, he is looking for ways to harness his loss to the cause of peace and mutual understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Abuelaish is now speaking to Israelis, Europeans and Americans, to Jews, Arabs, and anyone else who cares about Israeli-Palestinian peace, in an attempt to push for reconciliation. He believes that the time has come for Israelis, Palestinians and their friends overseas to "lead their leaders," as he says, toward peace rather than to serve as pawns in a deadly conflict. A committed physician, Dr. Abuelaish likes to say that he is seeking to heal not only individuals on both sides but to help remedy the relations between Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians. The Hippocratic Oath, he has been telling Israelis, Palestinians, Europeans and Americans, goes beyond the stethoscope and the syringe. It is a solemn oath to heal the wounds of humanity.