Middle East

Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean

Eliyahu McLean is the director of the Jerusalem Peacemakers, a group of religious leaders and grassroots peacebuilders in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Eliyahu organizes monthly inter-religious Israeli-Palestinian peace gatherings in East and West Jerusalem and coordinates the Abrahamic Reunion, a group of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Druze religious leaders working together to re-claim religion as a source for peace. Eliyahu is also a board member and interfaith advisor for the Sulha Peace Project, which hosts an annual event which brings together thousands of Israelis and Palestinians. 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.

Videos featuring Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean

Encountering the Other

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean describes how engaging deeply with someone of a different spiritual tradition can strengthen your own roots.

(1 min 27 sec)
Two Wings to Fly

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean suggests that the strife in the Holy Land presents a unique opportunity to experiment with ideas of unity.

(2 min 59 sec)
A Heart Centered Approach to Peacemaking

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean describes a heart-centered approach to peacemaking that takes into account the deep wounds of both Israelis and Palestinians.

(3 min 47 sec)
The Four Fold Song

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean shares a mystic teaching, called the Four Fold Song, as an example of a narrative that embraces both our individuality and our interconnectedness.

(5 min 44 sec)
Bearing Witness

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean says that people in the Holy Land need other members of the human family to bear witness to their pain and help them learn to come together.

(1 min 43 sec)
Finding a Non-Violent Solution

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean discusses the merits of a non-violent solution in the Holy Land. Eliyahu suggests that religious and spiritual traditions may have a significant role to play in finding peace.

(2 min 41 sec)
The Role of the Mystic

Jerusalem Peacemaker Rodef Shalom Eliyahu McLean says that we forget the true goal of our spiritual and religious traditions when we get caught in the forms and structures that they teach. Mystics, he says, can remind us of the common inner dimension at the core of every tradition and help us wake up to the unity within diverse beliefs.

(4 min 46 sec)

"I think if someone is deeply rooted in their own story, in their own spiritual practice, in their own culture, then they have nothing to fear by encountering the other."

From

Encountering the Other

On the web

Jerusalem Peacemakers

Encountering the Other

Two Wings to Fly

Sami Awad

Sami Awad is the Executive Director of Holy Land Trust (HLT), a Palestinian nonprofit organization which he founded in 1998 in Bethlehem. HLT works with the Palestinian community at both the grassroots and leadership levels in developing nonviolent approaches that aim to end the Israeli occupation and build a future founded on the principles of nonviolence, equality, justice, and peaceful coexistence. In 2006, he ran as an independent candidate in the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections (the Palestinian Parliament). He also established the Travel and Encounter Program, which aims to provide tourists and pilgrims with unique religious and political experiences in Palestine; the Palestine News Network, the first independent press agency in Palestine and a major source of news on life in Palestine today; and Al-Kul Television. He has traveled to several countries to speak about non-violence.

Videos featuring Sami Awad

What Would It Look Like?

What if the world embodied our highest potential? What would it look like? As the structures of modern society crumble, is it enough to respond with the same tired solutions?

Or are we being called to question a set of unexamined assumptions that form the very basis of our civilization?

This 25-minute retrospective asks us to reflect on the state of the world and ourselves, and to listen more closely to what is being asked of us at this time of unprecedented global transformation.

(24 min 54 sec)
The Power of Non-Violence

Peaceworker Sami Awad describes how non-violence empowers people to deal with injustice and oppression, and breaks down the barriers that prevent people from relating to each other.
Peaceworker Sami Awad describes how non-violence empowers people to deal with injustice and oppression, and breaks down the barriers that prevent people from relating to each other.

(2 min 21 sec)
Anger as Inspiration

Peaceworker Sami Awad explains how he chooses to use his anger to fuel a commitment to peace rather than violence. And, he points out, this anger is an important inspiration for engaging in change.

(1 min 49 sec)
The Future is Void & Empty

Peaceworker Sami Awad explains how the narratives we grow up with influence our perceptions. Describing his work with individuals in Palestine, he says that discriminating between conditioned interpretations of situations and the real potential that is present in each moment has the power to transform a person's worldview.

(4 min 47 sec)
Building a Global Identity

Peaceworker Sami Awad describes different levels of identification-religious belief, political affiliation, nationality-and explains why we need to make our identity as members of humanity a priority.

(4 min 25 sec)
The Core Essence

Peaceworker Sami Awad points to the core essence of the Abrahamic traditions to suggest how religion can become a player for peacebuilding rather than a tool for creating animosities between people.

(3 min 5 sec)
What is the Salt?

Peaceworker Sami Awad explains why it is not enough to simply look for one great leader to move Palestinians toward non-violent transformation. It is more important, he says, to find the one act, the salt, that can inspire and engage the people.

(2 min 30 sec)
A New Fairytale

Peaceworker Sami Awad recognizes the need for a new narrative that builds mutual trust and respect between the people living in the Holy Land.

(4 min 19 sec)
A Global Vision

Peaceworker Sami Awad talks about how the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is felt around the world: it is part of our shared suffering. And when healing happens there, he says, it is also reflected throughout the world.

(3 min 13 sec)
The Light in Humanity

Peaceworker Sami Awad describes the light within every individual and the layers of dust that can cover it over. In working toward peace, he says, it is important to recognize this light in each person and address it, helping it shine more brightly.

(5 min 11 sec)
The Transformation of the Holy Land

Peaceworker Sami Awad describes the potential of an emerging understanding of peaceful coexistence to create a new reality.

(1 min 33 sec)
Sami Awad: Complete Interview

In this complete interview, Peaceworker Sami Awad, speaks about the power of non-violence as a tool for healing and empowering individuals, communities and nations. Describing his work in the Holy Land, he explains why it is important to recognize those perceptions and interpretations that we have grown up with and to distinguish between them and the real potential of the moment. Awad says that it is most important to work through the heart. He suggests that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is not unique but a global issue, and that the peace achieved there will also be felt around the world.

(34 min 6 sec)

"The challenge is to create a common thread of values where Jews, Christians, and Muslims begin to see that what is common between them outweighs, tremendously, what makes them different from each other."