Memorial Monument at the Grave of Dr. Ramzi As’ad

This memorial monument was designed in 2022 by artist Abed Abdi and sculpted by Hatem Oweidah of Sajur, in honor of Dr. Ramzi Tufik As’ad—a distinguished Palestinian-American physician born in Nazareth in 1942 and raised in Haifa.

Dr. Ramzi As’ad was among the first Arab students admitted to a major medical school in Jerusalem, and later completed his residency in Haifa. In 1975, he married Naila As’ad, and soon after immigrated to the United States, where the couple settled in Augusta, Georgia, their home for more than four decades.

In Augusta, Dr. As’ad lived a life rooted in compassion, justice, and service. After teaching at the Medical College of Georgia, he opened a private practice in gastroenterology and served his patients for 28 years until his retirement in 2017. Deeply spiritual and committed to interfaith engagement, he was an active member of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, where he served on various committees and took part in theological education.

A man of profound empathy and curiosity, Ramzi was known for his love of books, travel, music, and poetry. In retirement, he joined a progressive book club, wrote a memoir, and audited a creative writing class at Augusta University. For one assignment, he translated a poem by his friend Mahmoud Darwish, titled “To My Mother.”

Legacy in Haifa

Though he lived in the U.S., Dr. As’ad remained deeply connected to Haifa, its people, and his family’s legacy. His brother, Dr. Suheil As’ad, served as Deputy Mayor of Haifa, and their father, Tufik As’ad, was a respected religious leader and head of the Anglican Church in Haifa in the early 1980s.

At the unveiling of the monument, Dr. Suheil As’ad explained that its purpose was to ensure that Ramzi’s memory would remain rooted in Haifa, alongside his parents and ancestors—even though his body rests in America. He thanked Abed Abdi, the family’s longtime friend, for designing the monument, and Hatem Oweidah for crafting it with care.

Reverend Hattem Shahadeh, pastor of the Anglican community in Haifa, reflected on the monument’s symbolism—the open top through which sunlight passes at sunrise and sunset, evoking spiritual rebirth and resurrection, no matter how far the soul may rest from its homeland. He quoted from the Gospel of John:

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

This is echoed in the words of Mahmoud Darwish, engraved on the monument:

“And the grains of a spike that dies will fill the valley with wheat.”

Artistic Vision

Artist Abed Abdi, who had known Dr. Ramzi since their early youth in Wadi Nisnas, spoke of his friend’s breadth of vision and quiet humility. The monument reflects this duality: its broad circular base supports two rising wings, like the open pages of a book—symbolizing knowledge, balance, and transcendence.

The monument was crafted using natural stone from the Galilee, with varied colors chosen to reflect the layered richness of both the land and the life of the man it honors.