Luminary: David Gerbi

Luminary: David Gerbi

'Making Peace with Qaddafi' is the title of a book written by a remarkable man by the name of David Gerbi. The book describes Gerbi's visionary peace project, which aims to heal the rift between Libya and its Jewish population, who fled their country as refugees in 1967 after the 6-day Arab-Israeli war. This peace project was conceived in 2002 and has moved forward significantly since then due to Gerbi's commitment and vision.

David is a Jew who was born in Libya and lived there until he was twelve years old in 1967. When the Arabs were defeated by Israel, Jews who had lived side-by-side with Arabs for centuries were no longer welcome in many Arab countries. The Jewish population in Libya went into exile. David and his family became refugees and settled in Italy. Their home and his father's shop were confiscated and never returned.

David completed his education in Italy and ultimately became a psychologist. Today, he teaches in Italy, the United States, Israel and Japan. Soon after September 11, 2001 David went to Esalen, a human potential center in California. It was here, while the second intifada was in full force in the Middle East, that David went through a process of self-discovery and healing that led him to dedicate himself to making peace between the exiled Jews and Qaddafi. As Dr. Elio Toaff, Chief Rabbi Emeritus of Rome says at the beginning of David's book "He found his own way to overcome the initial trauma of his exodus by becoming a citizen of the world and a man of peace."
David's website is: http://www.costruttoridipace.it/