by Miriam Ward (Author)
This book is a record of over forty years of advocacy on behalf of Palestine: "Sister Miriam Ward's four decades of bearing witness as documented in numerous letters to the editor, op-eds, articles, and book chapters provides us with a unique moral voice and an intimate look at Israeli/Palestinian history and US complicity. With a principled clarity and an uncanny and intimate understanding of events as they unfold, she recognizes that thoughtful criticism of Israeli policy is different from anti-Semitism, that the key to ending this conflict lies not only in security for Israelis, but also in justice for Palestinians: an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and siege of Gaza and Palestinian second class citizenship in Israel, and a resolution of the decades long refugee crisis. She challenges our mainstream media calling attention to the nuances of language, the underlying attitudes that assume Jewish victim to Arab victimizer, and highlights the danger that Jewish privilege and Israeli militarism have for all of us. This book is an urgent plea for honesty, justice, and nonviolent resistance and a powerful tribute to a gentle, loving soul who was grounded in theology and a strong sense of persistent outrage, a brave and unwavering challenge to stereotyping and racism." Dr. Alice Rothchild, physician, activist, filmmaker & author of "Broken Promises, Broken Dreams" "As a woman of principle and courage, Sister Miriam was a gentle soul yet a fierce defender of peace who spoke truth to power. She put her principles to good use in challenging bigotry, racism, exclusion, discrimination, and violence, especially as practiced by the Israeli occupation against Palestine. As someone whom I knew for more than three decades, Sister Miriam touched the hearts of people everywhere, but held a special place in the collective ethos of the Palestinian people." Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Member, PLO Executive Committee, scholar, legislator and activist
Author Biography
About the Author Miriam Ward, RSM, a member of the Sisters of Mercy Northeast Community, was born Dorothea Irene Ward in Salem, N.Y., on January 14, 1926 and died in Burlington, Vt, on January 17, 2014. She attended school in Vermont at Proctor Elementary School, Middlebury High School, and Mount St. Mary High School (Burlington). She received a B.A. in English from Trinity College, an M.A. in theology from Providence College, and a Ph.D. in religion from the University of Ottawa. Sr. Miriam entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1943 and was professed on August 18, 1945. She taught in elementary and secondary schools staffed by the Sisters of Mercy and was an instructor of religious education in many parishes throughout Vermont. Sr. Miriam was Professor of Religious Studies and Chairperson of the Religious Studies Department at Trinity College; she was Founder and Director of the annual Biblical Institute at Trinity College from 1966 to 1990. She was a lecturer at Providence College and served as Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt., from 1979 to 2013. During the 1970s, Sr. Miriam worked closely with Ned Hanauer, founder of Search for Justice and Equality in Palestine (SEARCH). She was a founding member of Pax Christi Burlington in 1982, and was a co-founder of the Burlington-Bethlehem-Arad Sister City Program in 1991. In 2001, she co-founded Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel (www.vtjp.org). Sister Miriam received an honorary citation for her "contribution to a better understanding of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict" by the Palestine Human Rights Committee, Chicago, and an honorary citation for "significant contribution to a better understanding of the Arab World" by the Association of Arab-American University Graduates. Sr. Miriam was the recipient of the Janet Rogan Peace Award by Pax Christi Burlington.