Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian Canadian physician and an internationally recognized human rights and inspirational peace activist, through both his research and his charitable organisation The Daughters for Life Foundation. Dr Abuelaish’s book, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, which was published into 23 languages and national and international best seller, is an autobiography of his transformation, inspired by the loss of his three daughters – Bessan, Mayar, and Aya – and their cousin Noor to Israeli shelling on 16 January 2009.
Dr Abuelaish has been nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he is fondly known as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and the 'Martin Luther King of the Middle East', having dedicated his life to using health as a vehicle for peace. Dr Abuelaish’s extensive list of awards and honors include countless national and international awards including 14 honorary doctorate degrees, The Order of Ontario, the Meritorious Service Cross, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Governor General’s Medallion, the World Citizenship in Action Award, presented by the Canadian Branch of the Registry; the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award of Canada; the Foundation P&V Citizenship Award; the Calgary Peace Prize; the Lombardy Region Peace Prize, the Stavros Niarchos Prize for Survivorship. He was one of three finalists for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Dr Abuelaish has also been named one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants; one of the 500 Most Powerful Arabs; and one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategies Centre in Jordan for five consecutive years. Currently Dr Abuelaish lives in Toronto where he is an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.