INTERFAITH PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HOLY LANDS
(ISRAEL / PALESTINE)

WHERE:
This emerging meeting is being called for faith leaders, far and wide, all who hold a special love and affection for the Holy Lands, in order to bring to bear the world’s spiritual focused energy in that region at this critical time in world history. The gathering will take place partly in Galilee (Israel), and partly in Bethlehem (Palestine).

WHY:
It is a symbolic meeting, a gathering for like-minded souls, from across all religions and none, and will include every person who wishes to attend (space allowing, meaning there will have to be some selection principle of invitation) providing they agree with two basic principles:

A) That non-violence and peace are the number one priority for the settlement of all other problems facing the world at the present time, and that violence can never achieve permanent or lasting solutions to political dilemmas and problems

B) That some kind of spiritual or faith accommodation has to be reached on the planet between the protagonists of the world’s religious and ideological factions – that peace between the religions and the spiritual traditions is a vital necessity, and that without this, it will be hard to achieve the goals of humanity, or even to agree on what those goals could and should be.

HOW:
By bringing the faith traditions of the planet to gather in the places of the holy land, places sacred alike in the major Monotheistic traditions of the Middle East, a well as to the earlier primal faiths which preceded them, and hopefully by the declarations, agreements, harmony and peace reached in the microcosmic scale between seekers of different faith persuasions working cooperatively, we hope to send a signal to all those who hold the holy land dear, or who try to follow some of the world’s many spiritual teachings, that real, lasting and sustainable peace can and will be achieved between the faith traditions of mankind.

WHEN:
This gathering was originally scheduled for 1999 but the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the outbreak of the Intifada led to its postponement until now. We feel however that the time has now created conditions in the Middle East and the global body politic, that necessitates the calling of such a gathering sooner rather than later. The exact timing will depend partly on response and support for the project, both on the ground and internationally. We anticipate however that sufficient support will have materialised for the gathering to take place in the Late Summer / Early Autumn of 2007.

WHO:
All people of good will, who support a non-violent solution to the problems of the Middle East and further afield, who endorse in principle the ideal of a two state solution of the problem of Israel-Palestinian conflict, and who adhere to the principle of inter-religious cooperation, agreement and reconciliation.

WHAT:
The Gathering will hopefully achieve several practical outcomes: firstly, it will be a highly symbolic gathering of faith representatives and spiritual leaders, in places of the utmost spiritual significance for mankind; secondly, it will contribute to the hastening of peace in the whole Middle East region, not just in Israel Palestine; thirdly, it will initiate a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Middle East (TRCME) and will take evidence and submissions from all interested parties with a relevant story to share, in the belief that sharing or confessing wrongdoings, can lead to forgive and reconciliation. Fourthly, it will bring together scholars and educators, sages and living saints, in the common task of seeking a way out of mankind’s ongoing catastrophe of violence and revenge, terrorism and counter-terrorism. It will hopefully contribute, in a small but powerful way, to the gradual realisation of a more mature planetary civilisation in which the great faith traditions of mankind can begin to reach philosophical reconciliation in the pursuit of the common good of all mankind.

WHICH:
This initiative is being undertaken by an international NGO which has specialised for over 15 years in the advancement of philosophical dialogue for peace and nonviolence, and which has been based largely in the United Kingdom (originally at the University of London) and which ran a series of pioneering interfaith seminars for peace at the House of Lords in London from 1993 onwards, among many other projects, including the establishment in 1996 of the Multifaith and Multicultural Mediation and Education Service.

To register initial interest or to find out more details of the programme, please contact:
International Institute Of Peace Studies And Global Philosophy
via our website www.educationaid.net, or email: iipsgp@educationaid.net.

The project is being undertaken in tandem with the creation of a British-Irish Truth and Reconciliation Commission (also a project of IIPSGP) which is having its inaugural meeting in Anglesey, Wales, on August 6-7, 2006.

Please address all enquiries in the first instance to our International Liaison Secretary, Sheena McDonagh, at sheena.mcdonagh@ntlworld.com