Conference Circuit

The Sulha Peace Project will hold its 6th annual "On the way to Sulha" gathering of Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians who will meet face-to-face for three days of dialogue, workshops, music, and communal living in the olive groves of the Latrun Monastery.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Tuesday, August 14 THE SULHA Peace Project will hold its sixth annual "On the way to Sulha" gathering of Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians who will meet face-to-face for three days of dialogue, workshops, music, and communal living in the olive groves of the Latrun Monastery. Since its inception in 2001, the organization has seen its annual gathering grow from a small, local event of 150 participants to the 5,000 participants of 2006. Events include workshops about co-existence, listening circles, a multi-religion prayer tent, areas for children and teenagers, "Hagar and Sarah" tent, main stage for musical and dance acts, and a campground for sleeping and eating. The goal of the Sulha Peace Project is to prepare Arabs and Israelis for peace in the way of meeting, becoming familiar with the culture of the other, cooperation and friendship between people, with the purpose of creating an ever-widening circle of people who maintain personal connections across borders and as such begin to break down barriers of fear between nations. Workshops will include: listening circles, cross-cultural learning, therapy through arts and music, multi-religious prayer, bonding through communication, movies, meetings with members of the Parents Circle - Bereaved Families Forum, and with "Combatants for Peace." Among the guests will be: Palestinian and Jordanian delegations, a representative from the Dalai Lama in Tibet, Sheikh Farah Guy from Senegal, Rabbi Michael Melchior, Sheikh Awad Kareem Al Zurba from Al-Aqsa and many other religious leaders who represent the struggle for peace. The event will include performances by David Broza, Moosh Ben-Ari, Tamar Nafer, Yair Dallal, George Samaan, The Davka Jafra Band and many others. For further details and registration, contact: Gilli Buium, 972-52-870-3979; gilli@benor.co.il. Thursday, August 23 A TWO-day conference and retreat on The Woman in Judaism, Christianity and Islam has been organized by the Hope Flower School and the Interfaith Encounter Association, which will bring together Israelis and Palestinians in non-political interfaith dialogue. The purpose is to get participants to know "the other" in his or her humanity and not in the guise of a political or national foe. The retreat, which will be held in the Guest House of the Austrian Hospice, at the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem has been organized to allow for religious and cultural songs of all three faiths as well as for spontaneous conversations through which friendships can develop. Check-in time on Thursday is 4 p.m. Cost for affiliates who have paid dues is NIS 100, others NIS 170. For pre-registration, send a check to the Interfaith Encounter Association, POB 3814, Jerusalem 91037 or telephone (02) 651-0520 or e-mail Fathiey@interfaith-encounter.org. Price includes participation in seminar activities, accommodation in double rooms, meals on full board basis and refreshments during breaks. Space is extremely limited and reservations will be accepted on a first come first served basis. Vegetarian meals will be available on request to those who ask for them when registering. Monday, August 27 PRESIDENT SHIMON Peres, Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, Education Minister Yuli Tamir, former education ministers Shulamit Aloni and Yossi Sarid, Bank Discount Chairman Shlomo Zohar and Holon Mayor Motti Sasson have indicated their attendance at the Holon Education Conference, beginning at 12:30 p.m. and continuing into the night. Tamir will deliver the keynote address at the closing session and will speak on The State of Education. The conference will deal with the education budget, the crises in education, a computer for every teacher, the place of education in the list of budgetary priorities, salaries that teachers should earn in relation to those they do earn and other related subjects. Pre-registration is required. Participation fee is NIS 120. For further details and registration, e-mail kenes@haaretz.co.il or telephone: (03) 638-2075. Thursday September 6 CLOSE TO 1,000 people are expected to attend an inventors conference to be held in the Smolarz Auditorium at Tel Aviv University. The accent of the conference will be on the invention and not the inventor with numerous Israeli inventions on display as part of a demonstration of Israeli ingenuity. The conference, under the auspices of the Israel Center of Inventors, aims to get across the message that the Israeli economy would not be what is today without the massive contribution of Israeli inventors. For further details, call Ofer Shetrit (054) 669-9199.