Stories of Hope from the Holy Land

Broadcast on September 16, 2010
With Jiries Mansour & Ibrahim Abuelhawa & Eliyahu McLean

Jiries Mansour

Deacon of the Greek Catholic Church and School in an Arab village in Galilee and a Founding Member of the Abrahamic Reunion,
Jiries Mansour is the Deacon of the Greek Catholic Church in Kfar Rame, an Arab village in the Galilee. He is also the founder and principal of the Saint Anthony Latin School in Rame. St. Anthony School is recognized for its superior academic and social training for hundreds of elementary and junior high students of the Druze, Christian and Muslim faiths. Jiries is a leader in peace and interfaith initiatives in the Holy Land, and has initiated numerous school exchanges between Arab and Jewish youth in Israel. Jiries is a founding member of the Abrahamic Reunion.

Ibrahim Abuelhawa

Co-Founder of the Jerusalem Peacemakers and the Abrahamic Reunion
Ibrahim Abuelhawa is is known worldwide as the ambassador of good will and peacemaker from the Mt. of Olives He is a grassroots leader in his local community. Ibrahim's home on the Mt. of Olives, East Jerusalem, is an international peace center-- people from around the world stay with Ibrahim to experience his version of Palestinian hospitality. Ibrahim is also co-founder of the Jerusalem Peacemakers, and the Abrahamic Reunion group of religious leaders.

Eliyahu McLean

Director of the Jerusalem Peacemakers

Eliyahu McLean is the director of the Jerusalem Peacemakers, a network of religious leaders and grassroots peacebuilders in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Jerusalem Peacemakers host events such as:
- the Abrahamic Reunion, a group of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Druze religious leaders working together to re-claim religion as a voice for peace
- the annual 'Jerusalem Hug' event that brings together hundreds of Israelis, Palestinians and internationals to pray for peace around the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem
- monthly cross-border events bringing Palestinians from Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah together with Israelis at events in Israel and the West Bank

Eliyahu was initiated as a 'Rodef Shalom', 'Peace Pursuer' by Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi. Eliyahu's work with Palestinian Sufis is written about in the book At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for God with the Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land by Yossi Klein Halevi.

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