Vision of Hope Blog - August 2007

The Little Cavegirl

Nissim Dahan

Picture in your mind a nine year old prehistoric girl, gathering nuts and berries with her mother near the mouth of their cave. Whenever she gets the chance, the little cavegirl likes to bring the spears, which are stored inside the cave, to the male hunters. As she gathers food with her mother, she notices two males approaching from one direction, and two others approaching from the other. The males need their spears to go out and hunt. The little girl aims to please. She quickly takes leave [...]

Why Would Anyone Strap On A Suicide Bomb?

Nissim Dahan

It is exceedingly difficult for some of us in the West to fathom how a young man or woman could become convinced to blow themselves up in the name of a cause they believe in. Our Western minds have a hard time making sense of the phenomenon of suicide bombers. And yet, we may well have to probe the minds of these fellow travelers, and understand how they think, in order to figure out how to best deal with them, and how to counter the threat they pose.

Some of us naturally a [...]

What is a Woman�s Place in the Arab World?

Nissim Dahan

We have to be careful when we criticize aspects of a foreign culture. It is often a bit presumptuous to do so, and can open up our culture to valid criticisms as well. We are all far from perfect, and we know it.

Having said that, even to the casual observer, it is readily apparent that many women in the Middle East are not treated well, and this may well explain some of the problems in the region. In some Arab countries women can not vote, or can not drive, or can not own [...]

Can Wealthy Arabs Be Inspired to Sell a Vision of Hope?

Nissim Dahan

Let me ask you this: What is the one thing that can turn a pipe dream into reality?

The answer: Money.

Let's face it, Selling a Vision of Hope is only a pipe dream at this point. If you ask me, it's as close to impossible as you can get. Lots of people look at it and wonder if we're smoking something. But all that will change once a wealthy financier decides to fund a project on the ground which resonates with hope, and which says to the worl [...]

Why the word "Selling"?

Nissim Dahan

A good friend asked me recently: Why do you call your project, "Selling" a Vision of Hope? He implied that the word "Selling" has to do with the mundane area of commerce, and may demean the vision in some way.

I thought about it for a while and I came up with two reasons why the word "Selling" is indispensable for our Vision of Hope.

In the first place, the word "Selling" implies that our vision is persuasive-that [...]

Can Education Stop Terrorism?

Nissim Dahan

My brother and I were talking the other day and he was wondering how it could be that medical doctors in England could have been part of a terror cell. Doesn’t terrorism, at the very least, violate the [[Hippocratic Oath]]? You would think so, wouldn’t you?

My response was that many of us naturally assume that an educated person, particularly a physician, would be less vulnerable to ideological extremism. But that, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be the cas [...]