News of the Foundation for Palestinian Studies Received with Enthusiasm
Shawky Fahel, the Founding Donor of the University of Waterloo’s Foundation for Palestinian Studies and the founder of the Friends of the Foundation for Palestinian Studies toured Palestine and Israel from August 18th to August 27th. The purpose of the trip was to deliver the message—the principles, concepts, activities and plans of the Foundation— to academics, not-for-profit organizations and government officials.
The message, that the Foundation for Palestinian Studies aims to spark meaningful dialogue around the history, culture and challenges of Palestinians and to bring in fresh perspectives and established expertise that advance inclusive cultural understanding, conflict resolution and peace building through education and research, was well received.
Shawky met with officials at Birzeit University, including its President Dr. Beshara Doumani; senior staff at St. John Eye Hospital including President Ahmad Ma’ali; officials at the Mossawa Center including President Jafar Farah; and officials at Project Rozana.
Shawky took the opportunity to get updated on the important work being lead by the Mennonite Central Committee in Palestine as well as in other countries in the Middle East.
He also met with several journalists from various news agencies.
Shawky met with the staff at Canada’s Representative Office in Palestine and had the opportunity to fully brief Canada’s Ambassador to Israel, Lisa Stadelbauer.
In all the meetings, Shawky’s message was enthusiastically received. Doors were opened for future dialogue and new opportunities for collaborative initiatives were established.
- Beshara Doumani, President of Birzeit University.
- Lina Zbeideh, Protocol and Events Coordinator to the Head of Mission, Representative Office of Canada to the Palestinian Authority (centre) and Brody Hoppenheim, Desk Officer for the West Bank/Gaza (right).
- Hanan Ashrawi, activist, politician, scholar and founder of MIFTAH (The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy).
- Founder of The Mossawa Center Jafar Farah. The text on the wall reads: "Mossawa (Equality) Is Our Right."
- Founder of The Mossawa Center Jafar Farah.
- James Alty, Mennonite Central Committee co-representative for Jordan, Palestine and Israel (left); Ikhlas Siriani, Program & Administration Manager (centre).
- Dr. Dajani (left), Shawna Novak, Executive Director of Canada International Scientific Exchange Program (second from right), and Dr. Akram Amro, CEO of Green Land Society for Health Development (right), all members of Project Rozana: https://projectrozana.org/.
- Justice Salim Joubran, first Arab to receive a permanent appointment to the Supreme Court of Israel (second from left).
- Dr. Ahmed Ma'ali, CEO of St. John Eye Hospital (left) and David Dahdal, Head of Development & Grants (right).
- Presenting a miniature of the Angels Unawares statue by Tim Schmalz, Waterloo Region sculptor. The original statue is to be found at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.
- St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital.
- View of the Baháʼí World Centre, Haifa.
- Sunset in Jaffa Port.