by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“I always wondered about Israel,” said Dorothy Drummond, the guest speaker at Monday’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. “It’s the size of New Jersey so how could two groups of people both want such a small piece of real estate?”
She was referring to the Arabs and the Israelis, two peoples and a subject that Drummond has made her career in academia and publishing.
The author of “Holy Land Whose Land? Modern Dilemma, Ancient Roots,” Drummond said she began her quest for understanding 10 years ago when she was in the Holy land while Pope John Paul II was also there.
“The Israelis and the Palestinians did all they could do to maintain the peace while he was there – and they did,” said Drummond.
In addition to her study of the Middle East and its tradition of conflict, Drummond has authored or co-authored several world cultures textbooks, spent 30 years teaching world geography on the college level and was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship.
She shared the results of her years of research with club members, including a brief overview of Yasser Arafat’s role in Middle Eastern history. He was the founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and, Drummond said, coined the term “Palestinian” to represent all Arabs living in the Holy Land.
“He wanted the world to understand that the Arabs wanted their voice heard and he did that through terrorism. Then the terrorist went to the United Nations and said he wanted to negotiate with Israel, so the UN declared him a statesman – and he even received the Nobel Peace Prize,” said Drummond.
Drummond said her research has led to the conclusion that the Israelis and Palestinians have very deep-seated reasons for wanting the Holy Land and because America has an interest in what happens in the Middle East, we have to understand the issues on both sides.
She also shared her opinion on how the current U.S. administration must handle relations in the region and commented, “Our president needs to deal with the Palestinians if there is to be peace in the Holy Land. He’s got his work cut out for him.”
Howard Dale, club president-elect for the 2011-12 Rotary year, introduced new member Rabbi Joshua Lief, who is senior rabbi at Congregation Ahavath Chesed. Lief came to Jacksonville from Chattanooga, Tenn. where he was a member of the Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow and had, he said, “a perfect lifetime attendance record” for meetings.
Other new members introduced Monday were Mark Holley, a systems architect for the City’s Information Technology Department and son of club member Joel Holley and Susan Main. She’s executive director of the Early Learning Coalition of Duval and was introduced to the club by Linda Lanier, who serves on the organization’s board of directors.
Dale also said he was part of a symposium last week to explore how local organizations might assist in relief for survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. He pointed out that Rotary was well-represented at the gathering with representatives from four clubs attending including the Downtown club.
Dale said it wouldn’t be the first time Rotary has pitched in for earthquake relief. When an earthquake struck Peru in the 1970s, he said, more than 100 club members made contributions, as they did when Guatemala experienced an earthquake.
“Our club knows how to do this,” said Dale.
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