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  • Professional Development Seminar in Citizen Diplomacy w/ Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin and Palestinian Peacebuilder Aziz Abu Sarah

    Professional Development Seminar in Citizen Diplomacy

    with Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin and Palestinian peacebuilder Aziz Abu Sarah


    May 27th – June 4th

    Based in Jerusalem with day trips to neighboring cities and Holy sites

    REGISTER TODAY – LIMITED SPACE
    • Contact: Scott Cooper or Becca Grimm at ‘crdc@gmu.edu‘ or 1-703-993-4473 (USA)

    This seminar will be a combination of theory exploration, training, and concrete practice in the field. Based on Dr. Gopin’s most recent theories in To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy, the course will create space for participants to understand and measure in a new way the dynamics of their own potential impact on war and peace. It explores:

    1. The theory and practice of positive incremental change and citizen diplomacy
    2. A central case study from the Middle East
    3. The philosophical and spiritual ethics, East and West, of decision making in conflict interventions.

    Along with

    …

  • Dialogue Sparked by To Make the Earth Whole

    Some good questions from my student Agatha Glowacki on To Make the Earth Whole. Her questions are bolded; my answers are italicized.

    —

    Dear Prof. Gopin,

    I am reading your newest book and am very energized by the insights and vision you offer. As I read, I have so many thoughts and have been jotting them down, and decided to email you to start a conversation.

    Here are some of my thoughts:

    1. You mention the possibility of hope resident in the idea of a global social contract based on democracy and freedom. What about those elements, especially the radical Muslim fringe but even the more mainstream Political Islamists, who don’t accept or want democracy or human rights because they see them as illegitimate products of the West?

    Actually, I think this Western approach is overemphasized. Indicators are that support for non-democratic forms of political Islam, and especially violent …

  • Marc Featured in Latest Edition of the Mason Spirit

    By Mallory Huggins

    The Mason Spirit, a magazine published for the George Mason University community, featured Marc in its Fall 2009 issue as part of a piece about various faculty members who have “create[d] a stir with their expert opinions and groundbreaking ideas.” The article and the photo that ran alongside it are below.

    Picture 1 Picture 3 Picture 2

    Thanks to the Mason Spirit for recognizing the efforts and accomplishments of Marc and the CRDC as a whole!…

  • Redefining the “Jewish” in the Jewish state

    common ground news services

    Both Marc and Aziz had articles published in the latest edition of Common Ground News Service. Read Aziz’s article here.

    States defined as religious or ethnic are almost always injurious to human rights, and injurious to the moral integrity of either religious or cultural traditions. Citizens who do not belong to the designated official religion or culture have customarily been mistreated in history. This is true of Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Hindu states.

    But the fact is that Israel has been defined as religious or ethnic, and this will not change any time soon. Therefore, a new social contract is required in order to negotiate the circumstances under which an extremely diverse population of Jews and non-Jews can coexist in both safety and equality.

    An earnest process of negotiation and compromise would include some of everyone’s interests and needs, but is particularly essential for enabling a rule of …

  • Marc Interviewed at the J Street Conference

    By Mallory Huggins

    Marc was interviewed at the first national J Street Conference, held in Washington, DC. Take a look, and be sure to read Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s comments about the conference here.

    …

  • Recent Book Talk in Toronto

    I had a wonderful experience  recently in Toronto. This is a photo of my book talk at Indigo Books, where I spoke on my recently published To Make the Earth Whole: the Art of Citizen Diplomacy. I had been invited up by the Mosaic Institute to speak on a panel on the state of Middle East peace, together with Fawaz Gerges and Bessma Momani. The event was terrific, but the book talk was also fun because Hind brought so many of her good friends in Toronto, and we were able to celebrate with friends our work together in Syria.

    hind marc…

  • Unusual Pairs: Virtual Film Festival TODAY!

    Picture 3

    By Mallory Huggins

    Peace X Peace, an organization that “connects women across the world for the purpose of dialogue, understanding, and collaboration,” will premiere a segment of Unusual Pairs, a documentary featuring Marc and other Middle East Peacemakers. The documentary will premiere online today, Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m. Eastern time. Watch on your computer and stay for the panel discussion afterwards for commentary from Marc and producer David Vyorst. This virtual film festival is free, but registration is required. You can register here. We hope you can join us!…

  • Saira Yamin on TO MAKE THE EARTH WHOLE

    ICAR Ph.D. candidate Saira Yamin’s article in The News, a leading newspaper in Pakistan, reviewing my latest book, To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy in an Age of Religious Militancy:

    People to People Contact
    By Saira Yamin
    The News, August 8, 2009

    Excerpt from the Article:

    “Positive change is more often pioneered by individuals of courage,” writes Marc Gopin, a rabbi, peacemaker, and scholar. His new book To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy in an Age of Religious Militancy offers invaluable insights for those who want to make the world a more peaceful place. The narrative evolves in the backdrop of the post 9/11 clash of civilizations, whereby fissures between the West and Islam appear to be growing. Gopin observes that relations between the United States and Syria in particular are mired in distrust and hostility. Former President of the United

    …

  • Beyond the Walls of Hatred: Initiatives of Change Conference on Human Security

    I met a fascinating group of people from around the world at Caux, Switzerland a few weeks ago. The man who wrote this article was part of a large contingent from India and Pakistan who had some very serious and exciting exchanges under the able guidance of Mr. Rajmohan Gandhi, former parliamentarian, veteran peacemaker and distinguished author.

    Beyond the walls of hatred
    By Jawad Naqvi

    An excerpt from the article:

    Mr Ahmadinejad would do well to get invited to Caux and to listen to Prof Marc Gopin’s views on the states’ culpability in arming militant groups on both sides of the equation. He would gain amazingly fresh insights from the intervention by Jakob Finci, the president of the Jewish community in Bosnia, about the efforts of a small community of Bosnian Jews, Christians and Muslims to build a life together.

    Marc Gopin, a rabbi, is the James H. Laue

    …

  • Huffington Post Article about Ariyaratne, Leading Gandhian Buddhist Leader of Sri Lanka

    I met Aryaratne over twenty years ago in Cambridge, had a wonderful dialogue with him about Buddhist and Jewish approaches to compassion. Laurence Simon of Brandeis University, my old colleague and friend, introduced us, and I have been grateful ever since. Here is an honest article about this extraordinary man and his movement, the Sarvodayah Movement.

    A.T. Ariyaratne: Leading Sri Lanka’s Largest Civil Society Movement for 50 Years
    By Anuradha K. Herath

    The meek 77-year-old Ariyaratne, often called the “Gandhi of Sri Lanka,” has become popular for his massive meditation sessions in which hundreds of thousands of people converge to pray for peace. His Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, which Ariyaratne established 51 years ago, is based on Buddhist and Gandhian principles — Sarvodaya in Sanskrit means “awakening of all” and Shramadana “to donate effort.” The organization is the largest civil society movement in the country. By its own estimations, it

    …

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