Working with Those Committed to
Peace in Israel

Do the people of Northern Ireland have something to share with the people in Israel? Is it possible that empowerment is an antidote to resignation?

In 2001, these questions brought a new sponsor and two Israeli delegates to the Ireland Conference to assess how applicable and effective the Mastery Foundation's approach might be in Israel and the Middle East.

Based on that experience and a subsequent visit to Israel in the summer of 2002, a group of 14 Arabs and Jews already at work on peace and reconciliation within Israel attended the 2002 Conference and Intensive in Ireland. The following year, another 15 persons participated in the Ireland Intensive and four individuals came to Mississippi to participate in the Community Empowerment Program there. In 2003, we also began to shift from bringing participants to our programs outside to working within Israel.

Because the situation in Israel is different and because we are new to this situation, the scope and type of work we do in Israel is different from our work in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, we are in the second phase of our Initiative, working to train a broad network of leaders and volunteers. In Israel, we are only beginning the first phase of educating ourselves, building a broad network of relationships among those working on peace and coexistence, and giving them some familiarity with our work.

Our focus is smaller programs with an emphasis on creating connection and trust between Jews and Arabs at the community level and developing grassroots leadership skills. We have already offered, in cooperation with the Yitzhak Rabin Center, two Community Empowerment programs (one for neighboring Jewish and Arab villages) and advanced leadership workshops. We are also working on programs with the Leo Baeck Center in Haifa and the Arab village of Tamra, as well as pursuing possibilities with other organizations and groups.

The response to our programs in Israel has been very positive. There is a growing demand for the type of education we provide – education that provides a dimension of experiential learning and practice along with a new sense of freedom and power to make a lasting difference.

View of Jerusalem

"The safe course is to avoid situations which are disagreeable and dangerous. Such a course might get one by the issue of the moment, but it has bitter and evil consequences."

Dean Acheson, former US Secretary of State