Hundreds entered the fifth annual Miss Holocaust Survivor pageant, held this time in the city of Haifa, Israel, in October. Fourteen finalists had their hair and makeup perfected backstage before taking to the catwalk. They included 73-year-old German-born Malka Gorka, whose entire extended family was killed by Nazis, and Hungarian-born Carmela Ben Yehuda, 89, who survived Auschwitz – the Nazi concentration camp in Poland.

You all have endured the darkest period in history and, despite everything, you chose life

“You all have endured the darkest period in history and, despite everything, you chose life. You chose to raise families, to work, to create and to continue living,” said the wife of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara Netanyahu, who crowned the finalist.

Photo: Amir Cohen

This article is from issue 88 of Positive News magazine

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A wildlife hospital in Israel has opened the world’s first avian blood bank to care for injured migratory birds that use the country as an important resting spot.  Part of the Asia-East African Flyway, Israel is a major stop-off point for birds that journey thousands of kilometres each year. One of the most popular birdwatching sites, The Hula Valley in northern Israel, is visited by 500 million birds from as many as 500 different species each year.

Dr Elad Smit from the Israeli Wildlife Hospital said birds often arrive exhausted and weak after their arduous journeys. “We treat a large number of migratory birds each year and some of these have hypoproteinemia [low levels of blood protein]. We hope these birds could now benefit from the plasma bank.”

He said that though the scheme is in its early stages, the clinic already has around 20 plasma units from 13 species and has used two of them to treat injured birds.

“The knowledge about blood typing in birds is very limited,” Dr Smit explained. “What we do know is that a transfusion is much more likely to have a positive effect if it comes from the same species, so we try to collect plasma units from a variety, with a focus on migratory species that have higher probability of needing such a plasma unit.”

Regular visitors that are likely to benefit include the common buzzard, which can also be seen in many parts of the UK, and the white stork (pictured).

Many of the world’s species of migratory birds are in decline. Factors include climate change, predation by other animals, plane strikes, pesticide use and light pollution. But in places such as the Middle East, they have often had human conflict to contend with too. Cranes have been known to fly 10,000 feet higher over Lebanon than they normally would in order to avoid gunfire.

However, a desire to protect the region’s unique birdlife has also served as a tool for harmony. Several trans-boundary projects to promote conservation and educate people about feathered visitors have taken place for more than 20 years. The school-based Migrating Birds Know No Boundaries project teaches children in Jordan, Israel and Palestine about the area’s birdlife, promoting cross-border understanding at the same time.

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The Arab League initiative for peace

The Arab Peace Initiative (API), which is an extraordinary document, would require all Arab countries to normalise relations with Israel in return for comprehensive Arab-Israel peace. The plan offers full recognition of Israel but only if it returned fully to the 4 June 1967 lines, including along the Golan Heights and in east Jerusalem. It also requires a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees, which will bring security, stability and prosperity to the region. It is also worth considering France’s proposal to have European-run border monitors between the Gaza strip and Israel, in an effort to end hostilities and encourage peace.

The role of US in brokering peace

The attempts of successive US presidents, including the present Obama administration, to bring peace are laudable but questionable. Attempts to bring peace in the region can only be genuine if the US stops funding Israel and its allies with billions of dollars worth of the latest high-tech weaponry. Israel’s military aggression against Palestinians amounts to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UN and governments across the world should enforce a legally binding military embargo on Israel similar to that imposed on South Africa during apartheid.

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Learning from the Northern Ireland peace process

Northern Ireland has become relatively peaceful and prosperous following the Good Friday agreement brokered in 1998. This model is being increasingly applied by political leaders to solve other conflicts around the world. Some of the lessons learned that could be applied in the Israel-Palestine conflict:

1. There should be a lasting ceasefire to end violence as all parties are fed up with 60 years of infighting.

2. Start negotiations between all parties in the conflict – including sworn enemies – in a trusted manner, for sensible solutions.

3. Agreement for a two-state solution in which Palestinian statehood is recognised and Israel’s identity and right to exist is acknowledged.

4. Agreement for equitable sharing of scarce resources, such as oil, water food, land.

5. There is a need for strong leaders to help communities develop trust and close and friendly relations without excluding any group.

6. Genuine efforts at decommissioning weapons and prisoner release.

7. Setting up an Israeli-Arab Council to settle differences instead of resolving them on the battlefield.

8. No rigid preconditions for achieving the objectives of political peace process.

9. Israel needs to adopt more humane approach towards the people of Gaza and lift the blockade and barriers. Palestinian groups should reciprocate with a ceasefire and stop all acts of violence against Israeli people.

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