Jerusalem to Host Interfaith Conference

: Interfaith Programs; Thursday, August 09, 2012; Last Updated: 11 December 2014

Jerusalem, Israel - UPF will hold an Interfaith Consultation for Peace and Development in the Middle East in Jerusalem from August 26 to 28. High-level religious leaders, scholars, and interfaith activists from throughout the world will be in attendance, including people of faith who hold positions in government, the media, the private sector, and civil society.

A special segment of the program will be dedicated to building upon and honoring the spirit of the 2012 celebration at the United Nations of the World Interfaith Harmony Week that had as its theme, “Common Ground for the Common Good.” A wide range of interfaith organizations and faith-based organizations, along with diplomats and UN officials, participated in support of the initiative taken up by the Office of the President of the General Assembly.

There is a growing awareness among people throughout the world of the urgent need for interfaith cooperation if we are to successfully resolve many of the critical issues of our time, including the problems that we face in the Middle East. This consultation will consider the ways in which interfaith cooperation can contribute to peace and development in the region, as well as globally.

Date: August 26 - 28, 2012 | Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Download: PowerPoint Report at slideshare, Program Booklet

Schedule
August 26, 2012
5:00 PM	Registration
7:30 PM	Opening Dinner
August 27, 2012
7:00 AM	Breakfast
9:00 AM	Session I – The Middle East & the Role of Interfaith Cooperation for Peace Moderator Mr. Hod Ben Zwi Secretary General, UPF-Israel Speakers Rev. Dr. Marcus Braybrooke World Congress of Faiths, UK “No Future without Forgiveness” Imam Dr. Abduljalil Sajid Brighton Islamic Mission, UK “Common Moral Grounds for the Common Good, an Islamic Perspective” Dr. Thomas G. Walsh President, Universal Peace Federation International “Religion, Interfaith, and Track Two Diplomacy”
10:30 AM	Break
10:45 AM	Session II – Israel, the Arab Spring, and the Current Dynamics Moderator Dr. Nurit Hirschfield President, Women’s Federation for World Peace, Israel Speakers Dr. Michael Balcomb Communications Director, UPF International “Religion as an Obstacle to Peace” Hon. Ran Cohen Former Member, Israeli Knesset “The Chance for Peace in the Middle East After the 'Arab Spring' Revolution” Ambassador Sam Zakhem Former United States Ambassador to Bahrain “The UN and the Arab-Israeli Conflict”
1:00 PM	Lunch
3:45 PM	Session III – Religion and Peace Moderator Mr. Taj Hamad Secretary General, UPF International Speakers Rabbi Shuki Ben Ami Chair, World Media Association of Israel “The Sacrifice of Isaac - Abraham's Mistake of Offering His Son as a Sacrifice to God” Prof. Marco Frenschkowski Professor, Leipzig University, Germany “Peace in the Near East: What the Academic Study of Religion Can and Cannot Do” Ms. Olfat El Mallakh Professor, College of Du Page, Illinois, USA “The Monotheistic Family and Their Common Revealed Book, the Book of Psalms” Mr. Joseph Montville George Mason University, USA “The Centrality of Peace in the Oneness of God in Judaism and Islam”
4:30 PM	Break
6:30 PM	Dinner
August 28, 2012
7:00 AM	Breakfast
9:00 AM	Session IV – Best Practices in Global Interfaith: Focus on the Middle East Moderator Dr. Michael Balcomb Communications Director, UPF International Speakers Professor Eliezer Glaubach Foerder Institute for Democracy and Pluralism, Tel Itzhak, Israel “Interfaith Climate Change” Mr. Taj Hamad Secretary General, UPF International “World Interfaith Harmony Week” Dr. Nurit Hirschfield President, Women’s Federation for World Peace, Israel “Interfaith Think Tank – A Practical Tool to Develop Friendship and Understanding”
11:00 AM	Break
11:30 AM	Closing Session Moderator Dr. Thomas G. Walsh
12:30 PM	Lunch

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