Tragedy in Gaza Inspires Education Initiative Linked to New College

Izzeldin Abuelaish stood in a black suit and red tie before a packed room at New College of Florida on Thursday evening. Soon the Palestinian doctor would speak, his voice seeming to fill the silent room. The audience would listen intently to the man who they had only heard about, the one who started a movement that will bring Middle Eastern women to their school next year. First, there was a video. Onlookers learned about Abuelaish. He spent his childhood in a Jabalia refugee camp, eventually securing a scholarship to study medicine in Cairo and then London. He started a family and served both Palestinians and Israelis in an Israeli hospital. Suddenly, Abuelaish is seen screaming in television footage after two Israeli tank shells slam into his home at the end of the Gaza War.