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Yoga for Gaza paramedics raises controversy

A social club in Gaza has organized a one-time event to give a yoga session for paramedics who suffered psychological trauma during the latest Israel escalation.

Palestinian women practise yoga on the beach during an event organized by the Positive Energy Club, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, March 3, 2020.
Palestinian women practise yoga on the beach during an event organized by the Positive Energy Club, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, March 3, 2020. — Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Positive Energy Club organized a one-day yoga event for paramedics at the beach in the Gaza Strip on the International Day of Yoga, on June 21, aiming to minimize the consequences of the recent Israeli war on mental health. But the event has raised wide-scale criticism in the conservative enclave.

Yoga, which is a physical activity that contributes to emotional balance and mental comfort, is not very popular in the Gaza Strip or in Islamic societies due to its Buddhist roots.

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