Middle East Journey 2009 Leaving Indianapolis on December 27

Press Release

Date: December 7, 2009
Contact: Charlie Wiles (317) 466-0114 or cwiles@peacelearningcenter.org
Middle East Journey 2009 Leaving Indianapolis on December 27

International Interfaith Initiative is collaborating with The Village Experience to host the second annual Middle East Journey leaving Indianapolis on December 27 and returning on January 9th 2010. Middle East Journey is a delegation of conscientious citizens from diverse faith and vocational backgrounds who are traveling to the Middle East to learn about and participate in programs that are effectively building a better future for the region. This year’s delegation includes a dynamic group of individuals that represents the rich religious diversity here in Central Indiana. Among the 11 participants is the Catholic Chaplain at Butler University, the Jewish education director at Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, two members of 91st Street Christian Church, a Hindu Masters student at UIndy and the daughter of one of the leaders of Al Huda Mosque in Fishers. We are also traveling with a civil rights attorney and a woman who has dedicated her life to reduce recidivism in our community. The goal of the journey is to continue building relationships based on mutual trust with individuals and organizations working for positive change in the Middle East.
This year’s Journey will take us to various sites in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank in Palestine. New Year’s Eve will be spent at Wadi Rum, a breathtakingly beautiful National Park in the southern desert of Jordan.

The journey begins with a meeting with members of the Iraqi refugee community in Jordan. The meeting will take place at the Jesuit Center in Amman where the priests have befriended hundreds of Chaldeans who fled Iraq after the war began in 2003. The delegation will also meet with Professor Edward Curtis, an IUPUI professor who is on a Fulbright Scholarship teaching at Jordan University this semester. In the West Bank of Palestine the delegation will participate in a volunteer project and learn about youth development programs implemented by the Holyland Trust. The delegation will also hear about a “narrative” project at Bethlehem University where social studies teachers from Israel and Palestine are working to develop a common history of significant events in the region since early 1900.

The delegation then travels to Jerusalem to meet with members of a Jewish-Arab dialogue project organized by the Interreilgious Coordinating Council in Israel. Leaders from this project, Rabbi Ron Kronish and Imam Mohamad Zibdeh, spoke at a conference here in Indianapolis on October 23 this year. The delegation will also meet with a church in Cana, a village in the Galilee area of northern Israel, that is a partner with 91st Street Christian Church on various projects that foster interfaith understanding.

All too often we hear only negative news from this awe inspiring region of the world when in fact there is much to celebrate and many projects that we can support for a better future for everyone! Interfaith efforts are a unique expression of American optimism and are one of the keys to help facilitate this change.