Close-Up Talk Radio spotlights author Orit Murad Rehany

Coconut Creek, FL – In the wake of 9/11, the rising tide of xenophobia has prevented meaningful collaboration between the West and the Middle East. And yet they remain willing partners; they want to experience western innovations and technology and see their communities grow and flourish.

Orit Murad Rehany has dedicated her life to educating audiences on Middle East culture. Rehany is the author of the forthcoming A River of Tears, The River of Hope: The Saga of Two Torah Scrolls, the story of a thriving community that had lived peacefully for nearly 3,000 years until the political upheaval of World War II. The book chronicles her family’s journey from Iraq to Israel in the early 1950s.

“Me and the book are one and the same,” says Rehany. “We went from a wealthy household to a transition camp, but we had to put that in the past to reach our goals and we did. The book focuses on the stories of people who can offer us great wisdom from their life experiences.”

In 1951, Rehany and her family were granted permission to leave Iraq as refugees, forsaking all their possessions and assets. Complicating matters further, a month before their departure for Israel, Rehany’s father passed away. Along her journey, Rehany was forced to absorb new cultures, new languages. Her family was finally able to settle in Montreal and remained there for thirty years until upheaval in Quebec inspired Rehany to move to the US.

“I wrote this book to help people erase their negativity and overcome the things that are holding them back from reaching their dreams,” says Rehany. “From all my experiences I feel I can really help people. This is what I must do.”