Jewish and Palestinian women
birthing peace
Monday, 18 January 2010
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
habit."
-- Aristotle (384-322 BC)
If ever the world sees a time when women shall
come together
purely and simply for the benefit of (hu)mankind,
it will be a power such as the world has never
known.
--
Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
British poet, cultural
critic
= = 1 = =
Giving
birth to peace, THE MIDWIVES COEXISTENCE PROJECT is a group of Palestinian
and Israeli midwives freely sharing their combined knowledge to help
pregnant Israeli and Palestinian mothers experience safe and natural births.
A coexistence project of Circle of Health
International (COHI) -- http://www.cohintl.org/05news/beit_jala_meeting.php
-- since 2004 the midwives have worked with women throughout Israel and the
Palestinian Authority.
They cooperate to (1) reduce the use of anesthetics
during birth and (2) enable women to safely and naturally give birth without
a doctor, assisted only by a midwife, if they so choose.
The Palestinian town of Mithaloon,
is home to the only West Bank birthing center where women can deliver their
babies assisted only by a midwife.
Aisha Saifi ( SaifiAisha@yahoo.com
) the Palestinian coordinator, holds a B.S. in Nursing as well as a Diploma in
Midwifery from Bethlehem University in Palestine.
Israeli project coordinator Gomer
Ben Moshe( GBenMoshe@cohintl.org ) worked in a hospital delivery room midwife
for many years after earning her B.A. in Nursing and midwifery diploma.
Ben Moshe and Saifi
agree that the unforgettable experience of childbirth creates a bonding
environment for the midwives, who discover, as they work together, that they
share much more in common than they thought.
SEE VIDEO at:
Midwives for Peace
Israel21c (3-1/2 min. video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mDIxTpGSew
= = 2 = =
Muslim Hanan Gaffaly (
Believe11@walla.co.il ) is an extra-ordinary relationship builder in the Holy
Land.
The Jaffa resident is preoccupied with building
youth into the spiritual leaders and bridge builders of today and tomorrow.
She invests most days working with KIDS FOR
PEACE -- http://www.kcpeace.org/ .
Hanan works with other
Palestinians and Jews of SULHA-- http://www.sulha.com/
-- and especially their SULHA bringing Israeli, West Bank, and Gazan youth across borders to engage and grow together.
For one Israeli Arab woman, peace begins
within
Palestinian Arab Israeli Hanan
Gaffaly experienced
a spiritual and professional metamorphosis
on the road to becoming a peacemaker.
by Karin Kloosterman
Israel21c -- 13 January 2010
http://israel21c.org/people/for-one-israeli-arab-woman-peace-begins-within
= = 3 = =
Niveen Rasheed, is
the Palestinian-American shooting guard.
Lauren Polansky, the
Jewish point guard.
They need one another -- depend on each other -- to
succeed.
Together, they are a winning combination for
Princeton University's freshman basketball team.
Polansky was the first
to commit to Princeton, and her decision was among the reasons Rasheed decided to attend.
On Polanskys Facebook page, the featured picture is one of her and Rasheed in a friendly embrace.
We are
always hanging out together, Rasheed said.
Thats the way this entire
team is.
"On and off the court, we cant
get enough of each other.
All the freshmen are close, and L. P. is one of my
best friends here.
It is Polanskys job to
get the ball to Rasheed and Rasheeds
job to score.
Rasheed leads the team in
rebounding, assists, and scoring.
She is second in the Ivy League at 16.8 points a game.
Polansky is tied for second
on the team in assists.
Rasheed and Polansky are among the reasons Princeton is off to its
best-ever start at 12-2.
The Tigers have won seven straight.
Princeton was 14-14 last season.
The Tigers have never played in an N.C.A.A. tournament
game
That could change this year.
Polansky and Rasheed intend to help that happen. . .together.
READ more about them:
Princeton Players Are Divided by Heritage,
United by Basketball
New York Times - 07 January 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/sports/ncaabasketball/08princeton.html