You don’t read too many nice stories about the West Bank and Gaza Strip—especially on a health blog—but
one weight-loss support group is bringing Israelis and Palestinians together. More from
Armenian Medical Network:
“I never felt good about myself and my body, and that’s something that women all over the world struggle with,” said Yael Luttwak, an American-born Israeli who started the groups.
"I thought this would be a great way to bring together women who wouldn’t normally meet each other.”
Israelis and Palestinians around Jerusalem are separated by Israel’s West Bank barrier and a network of checkpoints, which Israel says are needed for security, but which Palestinians call collective punishment…
…Israeli women embraced diet support groups decades ago and the Jewish state was one of the first countries to establish a branch of U.S. weight loss group Weight Watchers.
Dieting is a more recent trend in Palestinian society, but it is catching on fast thanks to the influence of Western television shows and given relatively high obesity rates in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
At the “Slim Peace” groups, women are bound by a common and intimate interest: their bodies.
“Before, the only Israelis I knew were soldiers at checkpoints, I thought they were all brutal,” said Palestinian student Enas Smoom. “But in the group, we forget we are Israelis and Palestinians—we are just women talking about nutrition.”
Maybe I’m just a hopeful liberal and maybe this is just pie in the sky, but it’s a touching story nonetheless. Better health, fostering better relationships—I like it.
.jpg)
