Sending Voice

​Sending Voice  |   שליחת קול  |   نُرسل صوت

​Heart Connection Crossing Borders

​ Clown Police Officer Az-oolay (Jerusalem) & Riwaa (Gaza)

​Live Zoom

​Wednesday April 15th, 8:30 pm Gaza/Jerusalem

​Join us for a meeting born from a shared work of art and a deep connection of the heart. It began with "Officer Az-Oolay" (a clown officer from the Straight to the Heart Police standing by the sound of a Shofar on Gaza Street in Jerusalem. That sound traveled all the way to Riwaa and her sister Lulu, living in a tent in Gaza. Riwaa sent her own voice back to Jerusalem in return.

​Come be part of a heart-to-heart encounter, hearing stories and voices that change reality by weaving hearts together. Why not?

​Officer Az-Oolay has been serving at Straight to the Heart Police since August 2020. She is a clown-policewoman who cheerfully wiggles her way through crowds, reminding each individual; from protesters to police officers, often in close proximity to violence, that care and love are what brought us here in the first place. She has served in more than 550 shifts. Based in Jerusalem, she also operates in the West Bank and throughout the country. Az-Oolay teaches as a professor in the Theatre Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she leads a new course titled Clown Policing in Public Spaces. Her goal is to connect ; and be connected to all beating hearts, across societies and roles; to bring laughter; and to practice listening to the heart while remaining in action.

​Riwaa is a 31 year old Palestinian woman currently displaced in a tent with her family in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, after being forced to flee her home in Rafah. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language & Teaching Methods and is dedicated to education, teaching English to orphaned children in the camp despite the harsh and unstable conditions of daily life, after she lost her home and her job.

​Alongside her work, Riwaa is the primary advocate and caregiver for her sister Lulu, who lives with severe physical and cognitive disabilities. In the midst of displacement, overcrowding, and limited access to medical care, Riwaa continues to support her family while striving to maintain dignity, care, and connection.

​Through both teaching and caregiving, she creates small but vital spaces of learning, resilience, and humanity- working to sustain hope and survival for those around her under extremely challenging circumstances.

​link to riwaa’s support network: https://chuffed.org/project/support-lulu-in-gaza

​the event will be in English with Hebrew and Arabic translation