"Never doubt
that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

NEWS & VIEWS

Fourth Sulha Peace Gathering Draws Over 4000 Participants [August 2004]

JERUSALEM: The Sulha Peace Project, a project of the Earthville Network, hosted its fourth annual Sulha peace gathering, which drew over 4000 Arabs, Jews and international witnesses to the groundbreaking grassroots peacemaking gathering. Arab news network Aljazeera covered the event this year, raising the profile of this powerful peacemaking movement among its primarily Muslim audience. Also present at the gathering were over 600 children, as well as representatives from other nations, including Earthville's old friend Geshe Thupten Phelgye, a Tibetan Buddhist monk and member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, who delighted participants for the second year in a row with his compassion, wisdom, and humor.

For more information, visit the Sulha website.

GAIA Launches Middle East Peacemakers Survey [May 2003]

OAKLAND: The Global Alliance for Interfaith Action (GAIA) is conducting a major international survey of organizations and individuals working toward peace in the Middle East. The survey was created by GAIA, with input from its peacemaking partners, to bring the voice and experience of peacemakers to the world, so that supporters of peace will be better informed by the collective experience of these seasoned veterans of the peace movement. The survey results will be presented in many world forums, including the Tikkun Teach-In to the US Congress on the 1st-4th of June. If you are involved with peace work in the Middle East, please take a moment to participate in the online survey. The survey is available at www.gaiaweb.org/survey/.

Mid-East Peacemakers Establish "Jerusalem Circle" Initiative [March 2003]

JERUSALEM: Thirty peacemakers from diverse backgrounds gathered on March 4 in a meeting that founded the "Jerusalem Circle." In attendance were Israelis and Palestinians from East and West Jerusalem, as well as guests from Turkey and South America. The circle formed to support individual efforts and to collaborate on joint actions for peace. [READ MORE...]

Sulha Peace Project To Expand to the USA [January 2003]

OAKLAND: The Global Alliance for Interfaith Action (GAIA) is working with Gabriel Meyer Halevy, cofounder of the Sulha Peace Project, to replicate the project's proven grassroots peacemaking model to the US, where ethnic and religious tensions have become more obvious in the wake of 9-11, the war in Afghanistan and the threat of war against Iraq. GAIA is partnering with other successful peacemaking and bridge-building organizations in the US to synthesize the Sulha method with other methods that have been used successfully in American communities. Planned activities include interfaith dialogues, cultural exchanges, and major gatherings in the style of the Sulha events that have taken place in the Holy Land since 2001, as well as other community-building activities. Stay tuned for news of further developments.

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