{"id":39377,"date":"2016-06-07T17:02:09","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T21:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=39377"},"modified":"2016-06-13T11:40:10","modified_gmt":"2016-06-13T15:40:10","slug":"gaza-physician-and-nobel-nominee-inspires-grads-at-brock-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/06\/gaza-physician-and-nobel-nominee-inspires-grads-at-brock-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza physician and nobel nominee inspires grads at Brock University"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was an empowering message of peace from a man who has every right to be filled with hate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician who has become an internationally recognized human rights activist, was awarded an honorary doctorate Tuesday afternoon from Brock University.<\/p>\n

In his convocation address to graduates in the Faculty of Social Sciences, the four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee said bullets are the \u201cweapons of the weak,\u201d but added that the wisdom of today\u2019s generation is a means to peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cA refusal to hate is the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of a human,\u201d Abuelaish said in a powerful 20-minute address. \u201cWords are stronger than bullets. Even if words can\u2019t stop bullets, they can deflect the poisonous hatred that stem from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In spite of unthinkable tragedy around him, Abuelaish believes health is a vehicle for peace. Born and raised in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Abuelaish was the first Palestinian doctor to receive an appointment in medicine at an Israeli hospital.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 16, 2009 the consequences of war hit Abuelaish in the most horrific and personal way \u2014 three of his daughters and his niece were all killed by Israeli shelling.<\/p>\n

I refused to fall victim to despair and instead vowed to fight for all, regardless of religious or political beliefs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople expected me to be drowning in an ocean of hatred,\u201d he said. Instead though, he used the girls\u2019 deaths as the motivation to fight for peace and equality for women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI refused to fall victim to despair and instead vowed to fight for all, regardless of religious or political beliefs,\u201d he said. \u201cI am determined to keep my beloved daughters alive in your minds through good deeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abuelaish has devoted his life to advancing health and educational opportunities for women and girls in the Middle East through his charitable organization, The Daughters for Life Foundation, which is based in Canada.<\/p>\n

A year after the loss of his daughters, he wrote a bestselling autobiography, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor\u2019s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTragedy can\u2019t be the end of our lives. We can\u2019t allow it to control and defeat us,\u201d said Abuelaish, who now lives in Toronto with his five children and works as an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n

He challenged the graduands to be people of leadership and values.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s your turn. We have to hand the torch and the baton to you. You are the hope, the new blood and the new leaders with a new vision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo with faith and hope and without fear. The world is waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also receiving an honorary doctorate from Brock Tuesday was Liz Palmieri, <\/a>the recently retired executive director of the Niagara Community Foundation.<\/p>\n

Read full coverage from the first day of Spring Convocation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish receives a Brock University honorary doctorate from Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Watch the honorary doctorate ceremony and Dr. Abuelaish’s convocation address below:<\/strong>
\n