New
university, other partnerships to help Holy Land
Thursday, 19 February 2009
"You don't have to be pro-Israeli or
pro-Palestinians, one or the other. You can be both."
-
Melek Nasr-Totah
"It's is not possible to be
"pro-Israel" if you are not "pro-Palestinian," and vice
versa. There is no such thing as one without the other."
-
Gail Weinstein
"If we are to have partners for peace, then
we must first be partners. . ."
-
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Centennial Commencement Address, Pennsylvania State University
June 11, 1955
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University partnership
A
history-making U.S.-Palestinian educational partnership was announced by
Presidents Leon Botstein of Bard College (New York State) and Sari Nusseibeh of
Al-Quds University (East Jerusalem).
"The Honors College combines the best of
educational traditions of Palestine with contemporary approaches to American
liberal arts education," announces their new Web site.
Al-Quds Bard Partnership
Bard
College has deep interest in international collaborative programs that
incorporate its innovative approaches to liberal arts education and the conduct
of secondary-level schooling.
Al-Quds University desires to play a central
role in improving Palestinian education and offer students a high-level liberal
arts undergraduate experience.
The two institutions have formed task teams, and
lively dialogue and discussion is occurring both within each institution and
between the two.
Frequent meetings are conducted via
video-conference, as well as face-to-face gatherings on both sides of the
ocean.
This 2008-2009 academic year is dedicated to
program design and development, faculty recruitment, and student recruitment.
The Honors College and MAT Program will open in this
Fall 2009, and the Model School a year later in 2010.
Interested students may apply for admission to
the Honors College through Al-Quds University Admissions office - Tel:
+972-2-2799753 or Fax: +972-2-2796960.
Faculty members wishing to teach in the Honors
College or Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program submit a cover letter,
resume, salary expectations and names of three references by e-mail only to
alquds-bardrecruitment@bard.edu or hr@alquds.edu .
SEE PHOTOS and more at:
Palestinian Campus Looks to East Bank (of Hudson)
The New York Times - Saturday, 14 February 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/world/middleeast/15quds.html?_r=2&emc=eta1
Bard College and Al-Quds University to Open Joint
Campus
The Chronicle of Higher Education - 08 February 2009
http://chronicle.com/news/article/5941/bard-college-and-al-quds-university-to-open-joint-college
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Environmental partnership
Green Mideast Peace is a partnership of young
people of different faiths and cultural backgrounds.
They cross boundaries toward one another, to work
together on environmental projects like keeping water supplies pure.
This benefits the whole Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian
community, and fosters understanding between these Jordanian and Jewish youth
and their counselors.
SEE VIDEO at:
Green Mideast Peace
Goodwater Neighbors Project
On Falafel TV
http://falafel.tv/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=26&id=27
or Current.com
http://current.com/items/89688761/green_mideast_peace.htm
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Create a new partner
in time of crisis
When you
feel threatened, don't call your friend.
Phone your enemy.
This is wisdom of Eboo Patel, an American Muslim
with roots in India.
Patel is founder and executive director of the
Interfaith Youth Core - http://ifyc.org/ - a
Chicago-based international non-profit organization that promotes interfaith
cooperation.
"The first phone calls Jewish and Muslim
officials should make when bombs explode over there are not to organizations
within their own religious community, but to reasonable people in the other
community," writes Patel.
"The first line should be, 'Im on the side of
coexistence, and I bet you are too. What public statements can we collectively
make, what press releases can we cooperatively issue, which helps the side of
coexistence defeat the demon of conflict?'"
In sports language, Eboo believes, "Thats a
play that could change the game."
US Jews, Muslims need new playbook
by Eboo Patel
Common Ground News Service - 06 January 2009
http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=24616&lan=en&sid=1&sp=0
This February 2009, President Obama
named Eboo the first Muslim in the newly created White House Council on
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The 25 religious and secular advisors will guide
decisions on both domestic and foreign policy issues.
"If we are to have partners for peace, then
we must first be partners. . ."
-
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Centennial Commencement Address, Pennsylvania State University
June 11, 1955