Woman of power seeks to use position to bring peace to region
Posted on August 29, 2007 • By Jennifer Lawson
Category: Featured, Social Leave a Comment
Sitting in her cramped Tel Aviv television studio dressing room, Galia Albin is bright-eyed, alert and enthusiastic while breaking for lunch between tapings of “The Club”, a talk show she hosts for Israel’s fifty-plus demographic. Because of her mission to influence and empower women throughout the world, she really doesn’t seem to have time to slow down.
“Do you want to share my salad?” she offers generously before launching into excited chatter about her projects and work.
At 57, Albin directs ten publicly held Israeli/international companies, advises the prime minister on business and heads up numerous international women and children development organizations.
She is a regular on the international women’s conference circuit where she rubs elbows with Jordan’s Queen Rania, Lucent CEO Pat Russo and the U.S. State Department’s Karen Hughes. She was recently invited to represent Israel at a peace promoting conference sponsored by the Jordanian queen.
“What I wish for more than anything is a connection between women in Israel, our region and the world. It’s a weak link that needs promoting but I have the power, knowledge and connections to do it. I would love to meet more women to speak about empowerment from my experience.”
Her own empowerment was born of tragedy when her husband died suddenly in the mid-80′s. “I stayed home with my children. He died and I inherited seven public companies and other holdings. I had a choice: Sit back and spend the money or learn how to ‘work it’. It took four years but ultimately I came out on top.”
A friend of thirty years, former adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Dr. Raanan Gissin says he sees huge potential in Albin’s dream of bridging gaps. “Israel is like an island surrounded by enemies and fences. Her non-conformist way of reaching out is very important because in going beyond the regular formalities sometimes people can be reached.”
Sharing Albin’s dream of regional peace, Lebanese born colleague Fadia Otte says that when she and Albin recently discussed the region’s conflict they discovered a common bond. “She wants peace between Arab and Jewish women and I want the same. We have a moral obligation to try to bring peace,” Otte said from her Paris home.
Otte left Lebanon years ago due to severe in-fighting between warring factions. “I grew up in bomb shelters,” she relays. She lost her brother in a bombing when she was twenty-one.
Otte hopes that problems of generations may be addressed with understanding. “It’s really all about tolerance. Tremendous ignorance is making the world go wrong but if we inform the young that we are not each others’ enemies maybe it can stop,” Otte said.
Albin shares the sentiment, taking it one step further. “My biggest fear is that in my lifetime I won’t be able to fulfill the mission I’m supposed to: Leaving a safe country. Women and peace is something I want to be good enough at. And I want to let others know that it’s never too late to realize your dreams,” Albin said. “When you stop dreaming, you stop living.”
If you liked this post, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.
About israelplug
Upcoming Events
You may have missed
Tidbits
Search
Subscribe to israelplug
Categories
Sponsors