Israeli and Palestinian Students to Explore New ‘Paths to Peace’ at NYU

    A new NYU program called Paths to Peace will bring together eight students of different faiths and backgrounds from Israel and Palestine to study together for one semester. The program is dedicated to training future leaders, endowing them with the skills and experience to advance reconciliation and coexistence for future generations. Students will enroll for the fall 2008 or spring 2009 semester. 

      The academic objective of Paths to Peace will focus on the historical, political, cultural, and religious relationships amongst the heritage nations of the students represented in the program. Among the classes students will take is one mandatory course with NYU students, and will also attend a special discussion workshop on issues relating to conflict resolution, righting historical wrongs, and different models of coexistence. Experts in the Arab-Israeli conflict from different points of view will be invited to address the workshop.

      The mandatory scheduled course will be taught by Ronald Zweig, director of the Taub Center for Israel Studies, who has previously taught at the Universities of Oxford and Tel Aviv, and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Zweig’s research interests include modern Israel and Jewish history. Helga Tawil-Souri, assistant professor at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, will work with Zweig to design the workshop. Tawil-Souri’s research interests include contemporary Middle East and Palestinian politics and media. 

      Program participants will attend a three day off-campus retreat and other excursions, exposing students to educational and cultural opportunities in and around New York City. In order to select a diverse range of students, the program seeks to recruit four Israeli students (two Jewish, one Muslim and one Christian), one Muslim or Christian Palestinian student from the West Bank, and one Muslim Palestinian student from the Gaza Strip.  Both Professors Zweig and Tawil-Souri will be involved in selecting students for the program.