[D9640general] eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 1031

[Garry & Anne Krischock]

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1.         1898 : Rotary charters a club in Palestine From: Sunil 


Posted by: "Sunil"
<mailto:sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk?Subject=%20Re%3A1898%20%3A%20Rotary%20charter
s%20a%20club%20in%20Palestine> sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk
<http://profiles.yahoo.com/sunilkzach> sunilkzach 


Tue Jun 15, 2010 5:06 pm (PDT) 


More than 150 Rotarians and guests, including RI President John Kenny
and RI Director Phil Silvers, gathered on 30 May to celebrate the
charter of the Rotary Club of Ramallah, the first club in Palestine in
three decades.

The new club, admitted by the RI Board on 18 May, adds another location
to the Rotary map, which covers more than 200 countries and geographical
areas. The club is in District 2450, which includes parts of the Middle
East, North Africa, and Europe.

The last Ramallah club was officially terminated in 1980.

"The chartering of a new Rotary club is always an occasion for
celebration," Kenny said in Ramallah. "It means that one more
community in our world will benefit from Rotary service."

Over the next two days, Kenny and Silvers also attended events in honor
of the newly chartered Rotary clubs of Gedera Habiluim, Israel, and
Amman Ammon, Jordan.

Club's path to charter

Among the guests at the three celebrations were Ted Beckett and Jeffrey
Behr, members of the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA,
which cosponsored the Ramallah club's charter with the Rotary Club of
Amman-Petra, Jordan.

Beckett, chair of the Center for Environmental Diplomacy
< <http://www.cedsite.org/> http://www.cedsite.org/> , asked his district
about extending Rotary
into Ramallah after attending a club meeting in Jordan in January 2009.

By February, Behr, the center's chief executive officer, had begun
recruiting a group of Rotarians to facilitate the formation of the new
club. Hashem Shawwa, of the Amman-Petra club, helped by leading multiple
clinics on Rotary for potential members.

Silvers became involved in the charter effort after the Colorado Springs
club asked for his assistance. He spent five days in Ramallah last
November to conduct training sessions with potential club members. He
also met with the Rotary Club of Jerusalem and Palestinian Prime
Minister Salam Fayyad.

"The Ramallah club members have a good understanding of what the
responsibilities are of Rotarians and their clubs," says Silvers. "They
have a vision of the positive impact Rotary can have on the community of
Ramallah."

Silvers also credits Uri Zeiger, governor of District 2490, and
Jerusalem club president Mark Zober with helping to establish the new
club.

The admission of the Ramallah club follows earlier attempts by Jordanian
Rotarians, District 2490, and the Rotary Club of Nazareth, Israel, to
have a Palestinian club chartered.

Beginning of Service Above Self

The 34 new members of the Ramallah club held their first official
meeting on 25 May and have already initiated projects, including a
winter clothing bank. Members are also working with District 2450 to
develop community parks, including several for children.

"Our theme is `The Future of Palestine Is in the Hands of Its
Children,'" says Ramallah club president Nader Dajani, whose uncle was
president of the Jerusalem club in 1944-45.

The Center for Environmental Diplomacy will help the club identify
community needs, Behr says.

"I am optimistic about and look forward to our Israeli clubs partnering
with the Ramallah club and other clubs throughout the Middle East on
Rotary Foundation Matching Grants, Friendship Exchanges, and other
collaborative efforts," Zober says.

The Ramallah club will sponsor additional Palestinian clubs in the
coming year, says Dajani.

Source : Rotary International News / Courtesy : eFlash_Rotary
Visit < <http://eflashcommunity.ning.com/> http://eflashcommunity.ning.com/>

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