In the minds of most, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine is intractable at best, or hopeless at worst.
The list of eminent statesmen, presidents and peace envoys who have applied their well-honed skills to the task of conflict resolution is long and impressive. Peacemaking is challenging at the best of times and is certainly not for the inexperienced or faint-hearted. By any measure, the pathway forward seems strewn with insurmountable obstacles.
The question must be asked: is there a parallel path that can be pursued that will gradually, incrementally, and inexorably bring Israelis and Palestinians closer together? Perhaps an approach that focuses on peacebuilding in parallel to and distinct from peacemaking, and which helps to build trust and confidence at the people level – while at the same time reducing high levels of fear of the ‘other’ on both sides – may be possible? Project Rozana and Rotary International believe it is.
In late 2021, 30 Rotary clubs and six districts from Australia, Canada, Israel and the United States, together with the support of The Rotary Foundation, committed US$87,000 to support an initiative called Project Rozana, to build bridges to better understanding between Israelis and Palestinians through health.
A global grant project was created and actively supported by the Rotary Club of Sydney in District 9675 and the Rotary Club of Southbank ESG Group in District 9800.
An opportunity was identified to build on a successful pilot program and provide 100 physicians (50 Palestinian and 50 Israeli) with the opportunity to learn together and sit for the important Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course. Five courses of 20 participants, each with an equal number of Palestinian and Israeli doctors, have been conducted in 2022. The program was so successful that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on September 30 that it was allocating $600,000 over two years to support the expansion of the program.
This is powerful testament to a Rotary strategy that is meaningfully contributing to peacebuilding in the Middle East, through cross-border people-to-people engagement.
In the apparent darkness, there are signs of real, substantial light.
Pictured: Project Rozana was inspired by the remarkable story of survival of four-year-old Palestinian girl Rozana Salawhi. In 2012, Rozana sustained life-threatening injuries when she fell from the ninth floor of the family’s apartment. If not for the quick thinking of her mother, Palestinian journalist Maysa Abu Ghannam, Rozana would have died. Maysa was able to have her treated at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, recognised as a world leader in paediatric emergency care. She arranged with the Palestinian and Israeli ambulance services to transfer Rozana at the checkpoint, a decision she made because she believed Rozana’s survival was more likely if she was treated in Israel’s healthcare system.