Previous Speakers

“Mapping Palestine” - A presentation by Dr. Salman Abu Sitta. Dr. Abu Sitta is General Coordinator of the Palestinian Right of Return Congress, and is the Founder and President of The Palestine Land Society, London. He is a world-renowned researcher on refugee affairs.

On the Front Lines for Peace - Sister Paulette is a Sister of St. Francis. She has worked in the Holy Land with Christian Peacemaker Teams. CPT works to prevent settler violence in the West Bank.

"Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & a Just Peace" - Dr. Nahida Gordon, an American Palestinian and Dr. Michael Greenberg, an American Jew share their real life experiences in the Holy Land and their hopes for peace. Many of us do not imagine that a Palestinian and a Jew might share so much common ground, that Israel and Palestine have a common destiny in which peace depends on justice as a solution to the Middle East conflict.

Popular Resistance in Palestine - Author and Professor Mazin B. Qumsiyeh. Mazin from at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities in Palestine.

Rev. Canon Naim Ateek, a Palestinian Anglican priest and founder/director of The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem.

His Excellency Afif Safieh, Afif Safieh is a Palestinian Christian and served as the Palestinian diplomatic representative to the United States. His prior assignment was as the Palestinian Ambassador to the Vatican and the United Kingdom.

Dr. A Rashied Omar, Coordinator of the Joan B. Kroc Institute's Programme in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (PRCP), University of Notre Dame.

Donald Wagner, Dr. Wagner is the faculty advisor for MESA and a scholar of Middle Eastern studies. Donald E. Wagner is Professor of Religion and Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies North Park University, Chicago, Illinois.

Mitchell Plitnick, National Director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), its newsletter editor, and an editor of Jewish Peace News.

Corinne Whitlatch, Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). CMEP is a Washington-based coalition of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant denominations and church organizations.

Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal and past President of Bethlehem University.

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Official Spokeswoman for the PLO during the Oslo Peace Process. She also founded the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). Dr. Ashrawi is a member of the Independent International Commission on Kosovo, numerous international advisory boards including the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Bank Middle East and North Africa Region, and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development .

Fr. Drew Christiansen, Former Director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC), the coordinating organization of the U.S. Catholic bishops, and has continued to serve as a counselor to the USCC on Mideast affairs. Fr. Drew is also currently editor of America magazine.

Dr. Jeff Halper - 2006 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Dr. Halper is a retired Professor of Anthropology from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Dr. Halper is also founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (www.icahd.org).

(Catholic Near East Welfare Association), Under-Secretary, Brother David Carroll.

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation , Sir Rateb Rabie- Knight Commander of the Holy Sepulchre and Fr. Alex Kratz, a Franciscan priest. HCEF builds community between American and Palestinian Christians through pilgrimages, publications, and communications.

Art Gish, Christian Peacemaker Teams - Hebron, West Bank, Palestine. He is author of Hebron Journal. Hebron Journal is a considered the primer in CPT activities. Hebron Journal envisions Jews and Arabs living together in peace. Jews, Arabs, and Christians celebrating holy-days and Scriptures and food in common, as well as, the formation of "Muslim and Jewish Peacemaker Teams."

The Ibdaa Health Committee (IHC) at Dheisheh Refugee camp is comprised of Health and Mental Health professionals, including nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists, sociologists and other interested volunteers. The IHC is a community based non-partisan democratic association. Today, Ibdaa serves over 1,500 children, youth and women every year.

Tent of Nations - The Tent of Nations project seeks to bring youth of various cultures together to build bridges of understanding, reconciliation, and peace. We invite youth from around the world, especially from areas of conflict, together for face-to-face interaction. They offer programs and facilities for solidarity movements, churches, youth organizations, and tourist groups.

Bereaved Parents Circle - Families Forum (PCFF) is a grassroots organization of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis. The PCFF promotes reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge.

Israeli Teddy Katz - Mr. Katz is a former Israeli soldier and a noted Jewish historian. He is an organizing member of one of the largest Jewish Peace Groups in Israel - Gush Shalom (www.gush-shalom.org).

Palestinian Michael Zoughbi - Michael is Coordinator of the Bethlehem Olivewood Collective located in Bethlehem, Palestine. Michael is a Palestinian Christian currently living in Bethlehem.

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Past Conferences

Israel/Palestine: Pathways to Peace - Providing a special opportunity to learn first-hand how we can help bring peace to the troubled situation in the Middle East. Keynote speaker Mark Braverman is author of Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land.

Sabeel Regional Conference -Cleveland, Ohio - Making a Difference in Palestine, Israel and the Middle East  (DVDs available here)

International Nonviolence Conference

TransNational Video Conference for Peace - One of 50 national sites hosting a live video conference from Jerusalem and Washington, sponsored by the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative and A Different Future.

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Films

"Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos" by Anna Baltzer

Public Access TV each Thursday at 10:00 PM during 2011

Anna is a Jewish-American woman who has traveled to Palestine several times. She shares her journey in this photo-report. Anna previously wrote Witness in Palestine: a Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories, which is a journal of her experiences as a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service.

The Lemon Tree - Based on a true story, this powerful film tells the tale of two women whose lives mirror their countries’ injustices and divisions, punctuated by intrusive walls, wire fences and an ever-present military. The laws of these harsh lands challenge each woman’s search for her own freedom, her quest for love and her relationship to the other.

Articles on our work have appeared in the following;

The Universe Bulletin, the Arab Gazette, Al-Sahafa, the Plain Dealer, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and MBC International News Service.

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