Georgette Rizek (; November 27, 1925 – March 16, 2018) was a Palestinian philanthropist and activist from

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. She founded the Infant Welfare Center in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Biography

Georgette Rizek was born in

Tulkarm Tulkarm or Tulkarem (, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the West Bank, the capital of the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian territories, Palestinia ...

on November 27, 1925 as Georgette Youssef al-Issa. Her mother, Alexandra Sahhar, was a nurse from Jerusalem. Her father, Yousef Elissa, was a pharmacist from

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

. She attended the Ramallah Friends Schools and worked as a secretary after graduation. Georgette Rizek married Dimitri Rizek, who was originally from Jaffa, on August 17, 1947; they had four children. They lived in Jaffa, then fled to Jerusalem during the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

in 1948. Rizek, seeing the great number of Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem, decided to start a medical center to meet their healthcare needs. She founded the Greek Catholic Society's Infant Welfare Center, which was originally housed in the basement of a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

church near

Jaffa Gate Jaffa Gate (; , "Hebron Gate") is one of the seven main open gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. The name Jaffa Gate is currently used for both the historical Ottoman gate from 1538, and for the wide gap in the city wall adjacent to it to the ...

in the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...

. She served as its director until her retirement. Rizek raised funds for the health center, both on her own and with the help of women from her church. In 1950, she and other women in her church founded a charitable group that raised funds through dinners, bazaars, and calendar sales. She also convinced local doctors to volunteer at the center. Eventually, Rizek raised enough money through her organization to pay the doctors a salary. Rizek was a member of many political organizations, including the

Arab Women's Association of Palestine The Arab Women's Association of Palestine (AWA) also known as the Arab Women's Association was a Palestinian women's organization founded by the Arab Women's executive committee (AWE) in Jerusalem in the mandate of Palestine on 26 October 1929. ...

. She was a

Palestinian nationalist Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

who protested Israeli settlement in lands where Palestinians lived. She was also prominent in Christian charitable societies such as the Jerusalem

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

Caritas Jerusalem Caritas Jerusalem (Arabic: , Hebrew: ) is a Catholic nonprofit organisation based in Jerusalem and operating mainly in the Palestinian territories. It was established in 1967 and is the official aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Palesti ...

, and the

Arab Orthodox Society The Arab Orthodox Society is an Eastern Orthodox charitable organization located near the New Gate in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. A part of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, it provides its local community with medic ...

. Her primary interest was in providing medical care for those who could not afford it. The people Rizek served gave her the nickname " Johnny," or "Mother of Johnny." She continued to volunteer and work with the community until she retired in 2008 at the age of 81. Rizek developed

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

in 2000. She died on March 16, 2018. The medical center Rizek founded provides immunizations, medical care, and dental care, as well as literacy classes, food for children, health lessons, and first aid classes. The Infant Welfare Center primarily provides care for Palestinian women and their children who cannot afford health insurance. It serves over 6,000 a year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizek, Georgette 1925 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Palestinian women 20th-century Palestinian people 20th-century women philanthropists Palestinian philanthropists Activists from Jerusalem People from Tulkarm