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July 5, 2022
Print | PDFDelivered by Gavin Brockett
Although students graduating today are unlikely to remember, some in this room will recall media coverage from January 16, 2009 when a cry of anguish echoed around the world. That cry was the voice of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian doctor, who had just witnessed the horrific death of three of his daughters and a niece in the context of escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence in Gaza where they lived.
Today, madame Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor and President MacLatchy, it is my great honour to present to you Dr. Abuelaish as the recipient of an honorary degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.
I am Gavin Brockett, vice dean in the Faculty of Arts, and I have personally known Dr. Abuelaish since 2011, not long after he arrived in Canada with his surviving children. I can think of no one who better exemplifies the values that we cherish as members of the Laurier community.
Dr. Abuelaish was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip; he obtained his medical degree in Egypt before returning to Gaza. He made the extremely unusual decision to learn Hebrew and to engage in cooperative efforts with Israeli doctors to treat Israeli patients. He was committed to building bridges across an ever-growing divide, determined that Israelis should see Palestinians as intelligent and skilled people deserving of dignity and respect.
Thus, if one person’s suffering can seem more unjust than another’s, then the deaths of Dr. Abuelaish’s daughters were particularly unfair.
However, in subsequent months, Dr. Abuelaish made a choice that has impacted not only his family, but the lives of countless others. He refused to be consumed by anger or bitterness, for he knew that would spell defeat. Instead, he chose to represent to the world that there is an alternative, a message best captured in his widely applauded biography, I Shall Not Hate. He believes with all his heart that peace can only be achieved through mutual safety, security and respect. Dr. Abuelaish is unequivocal in his declaration that violence is not an option: it only breeds more violence. Instead, he has dedicated his life to building relationships, overcoming ignorance and arrogance, and replacing fear with dignity.
Dr. Abuelaish understands that words on their own are meaningless, and that countless times leaders pledge peace but wage war for their own purposes. He also recognizes that women in particular suffer disproportionately as a result of these decisions, and so for the past decade, while serving on the faculty of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, he has dedicated his remarkable energy to sponsoring young women from the Middle East to study at international universities through his foundation, Daughters for Life.
We at Laurier have been particularly impacted by this commitment. It was after reading his book and meeting Dr. Abuelaish in 2013 that our students determined to partner with Daughters for Life through the establishment of a student club that today is known as International Students Overcoming War. Together, we have proudly sponsored three young women to pursue degrees in Biology, Physics and Global Studies. ISOW, as this student-led initiative is known, is indebted to Dr. Abuelaish for the inspiration that he has provided as it has gone on to partner with other organizations. As of this year ISOW will have sponsored a total of 30 students on full scholarships – almost all female – from Gaza, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Myanmar, Turkey, and, now, Somalia.
At a time when global events might lead us to ever greater despair, we must look to the example that Dr. Abuelaish has set and express our gratitude for his leadership. We cannot undo the events of the past, but we can and must honour Dr. Abuelaish’s commitment to use his personal tragedy for the empowerment and betterment of future generations of young women, to inspire them to pursue lives of leadership and purpose just as he has done for our students here at Laurier.
Madam Chancellor, I am instructed by the Senate of the university to request you to admit to the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish.