Middle East Peace Programs
The Middle East Peace Initiative has been promoting peace since 2003 through dialogue, people-to-people diplomacy, fact-finding trips, interfaith pilgrimages and conferences. It brings religious leaders, parliamentarians, academicians, women leaders, youth and civil society representatives together in Israel, Palestinian Territories and Jordan. Forums explore Track II approaches to the crisis in Syria. Read UPF's Statement about Middle East Peace.
UPF's Jerusalem Office for Interfaith and Cooperation among Religions and Office for Peace and Security Affairs convene forums of academics, political and religious leaders, and peace advocates. UPF-Israel organizes culture of peace tours and leadership seminars for international youth. For information email
- Written by: Marty
The Middle East is often seen as an area of conflict where the tradition of non-violence is absent. That is actually not true. MEPI engaged in dialogue with organizations on both sides that promote non-violence.
- Written by: Marty
The peace programs offer formal and informal opportunities for participants to understand more deeply both their own faith and other faiths that honor Abraham.
- Written by: Marty
The Middle East Peace Initiative began in 2003, when 123 members of the American Clergy Leadership Conference went to Israel with a desire for reconciliation, after a profound period of reflection about the painful historical relationships between Christians and Jews.
- Written by: Raymond J. Mas, MEPI Program Coordinator, UPF-USA
At the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, a Jewish scholar from Jerusalem, a Muslim cleric from Kazakhstan, a Buddhist priest from Japan, and a Christian bishop from Nazareth prayed for the unity of God's people during a Middle East Peace Initiative program Dec. 4-9, 2007.
- Written by: UPF International
The way to rise above the pursuit of self-interest is to recognize our common humanity. Just as a parent can intercede in the disputes of children, the parental heart originating from the Creator can help us resolve the differences that exist between nations, cultures, and religions.
- Written by: Marty
The Middle East Peace Initiative includes a wide range of interreligious encounters, fact-finding trips, interfaith dialogues, cultural initiatives, athletic programs, and service-learning projects.
- Written by: Middle East Times
| On a recent trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Sardar Muhammad Javaid Sarwar, director of the Institute of Peace and Development Belgium, told human rights activists and journalists at a Jerusalem press conference that efforts to secure a lasting regional peace were urgently needed from the international community. | |
- Written by: David Fraser Harris
The impact of the Middle East Peace Initiative is increasingly visible.
- Written by: UPF-International
- Written by: Joy Pople, UPF International
"I wish I could tell you that the problem of the Middle East has been solved," said Mr. Taj Hamad as he introduced a panel on "Toward a New Roadmap for Peace in the Middle East" during an International Leadership Conference in Washington DC May 17, 2007.
- Written by: Grahame Bennett, Managing Editor, Middle East Times
Several journalists at a recent media symposium in Jerusalem expressed agreement that the media should actively work to influence events by seeking to calm attitudes among conflicting parties in Middle East conflicts.
- Written by: UPF-International