Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East hosts Dr. Raed Mualem, Sr. VP of Mar Elias Campus, Northen Israel:

"Why There Is Hope For Peace"

March 3-5, 2008

Dr. Raed Mualem is an Israeli born Christian Arab, whose ancestry traces 400 years in Israel. He is the head of Mar Elias College in Ibilin, Israel where the campus includes schools for K_12, and a college for university students. The students in his schools are Israelis, primarily of Christian and Moslem faiths. Dr. Mualem is a visionary, determined to bring peace to the Middle East through education. He is working closely with ISIME to develop and spread Peace Studies Curricula on campuses throughout the Middle East.

He is partnering with ISIME in planning an INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONFERENCE FOR UNIVERSITY LEADERS FROM MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES. This conference will take place in Colorado in May of 2009. It will begin the development of an International Middle East Academic Alliance that will commit to take the lead in preparing students for a peaceful future. Currently, there are no Peace Studies programs in the Arab world. In order to promote democracy and peace, students need to be taught the skills needed to understand the benefits of peace, to overcome past hatreds, to transcend political animosities, to ultimately end the cycle of violence.

In 2002, Mar Elias Educational Institutions celebrated 20 years of providing one of the highest standards of education in all of Israel. It has grown into a small village of six schools and is the only campus in Israel which welcomes Christians, Moslems, Druze and Jews - in the words of Abuna "a most beautiful composition of any society."
The campus of Mar Elias is an oasis of mutual recognition, understanding, and appreciation where students, faculty, and staff work and plan together for a future of coexistence and peace. "We want to improve the social, educational, and economic status of the Palestinians in Israel, but more importantly, we want to create a mentality of self-reliance, restore shattered self-esteem and provide dignity. It is a matter of building bridges among the members of the same family: Christians, Jews, Moslems, and Druze.

by Michael Kadovitz