[Jewish] info on Malaka Bublil

[melinda]

Thursday, February 13, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  413-549-1710

 

"Love is Stronger Than Hate"
MALAKA BUBLIL, a Libyan Jewish Woman,  

Speaks About Growing Up in the Arab World

 

Malaka Bublil, co-founder of JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East  and North Africa), will speak on "Love is Stronger than Hate" at the University of Massachusetts/ Amherst campus on Thursday, February 27, at 7pm in the Campus Center room 163c. She presents the rarely heard perspective of Mizrachi Jews who grew up in Arab countries.



Ms. Bublil was born in Libya in 1948. When the Six Day War broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1967, she survived anti-Jewish riots thanks to the courage of her Muslim landlord who sheltered her in a situation reminiscent of Ann Frank. Later her Christian employer helped her safely escape the country.  Like other Libyan Jews who managed to flee with little more than their lives, she became a refugee.  



Eventually settling in California, Ms. Bublil has devoted her life to seeking awareness, healing, and understanding.  She was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award for her human rights advocacy.  For the last six years, she been working with Muslim refugees from Bosnia.



Having been seared by acts of hatred and saved by acts of love and courage, Ms. Bublil's life serves as an inspiration. As she lectures widely at campuses across the country, students have responded that her story is particularly interesting because of  "how she has been able to incorporate her individual healing and reconciliation with helping others." One student expressed it this way: "I was enlightened and educated about a situation I knew nothing about, and by her example I am inspired to reach for higher goals in my own life despite calamity or hardships." 



This event is presented by the Student Alliance for Israel and the David Project, and co-sponsored by the UMass Judaic  and Near Eastern Studies Department, and Sephardim (Sephardic Students  Association).

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