In Greece, about 10,000 people have been crammed into Moria, a refugee camp built for just 3,100. Though the EU has allocated $1.9 billion to the Greek government to subsidize refugee welfare, Greece has refused to improve the facilities for fear of encouraging more migrants. Residents in Moria spend up to 12 hours a day waiting in line for food, which often runs out before everyone is served. Moria refugee camp is at breaking point; the situation is about to implode. This will happen inwardly, harming some of the most vulnerable people in the world... The refugee crisis in Greece demands that EU leaders address two of the key underlying problems in Greece and the world at large: First, the factors that drive thousands to flee their home countries; and second, the lack of effective policies to manage humanitarian migration in a humane and efficient manner. The EU with its enormous human and technical resources, has the means to deliver on both these challenges - it just needs political vision and leadership!

Countless children - many of them under five years old - are trapped in north-east Syria after fleeing areas held by Islamic State during the recent escalation in fighting; according to the NGO 'Save the Children'. Amid efforts by European countries to repatriate children, the figures underline the scale and difficulty of the problem to evacuate the children. Children who lived under Isis have witnessed appalling acts of brutality, including beheadings, and may have been left with physical injuries and psychological needs from years of conflict and repression. While the NGO welcomed a recent shift in the UK government's stance towards providing "safe passage" for British orphans to come to the UK, it said the vast majority of the children were with their mothers and all had been swept up in horrific events beyond their control... Hence the international community urgently needs to ensure that ALL children in war-torn Syria are being provided with safety, protection and health care; as stipulated by the UNCRC.

Since Abdel Fatah al-Sisi seized power in a bloody coup in 2013, Egypt has descended into a country of military dictatorship. Once a cradle of civilization of the highest spiritual integrity, Egypt today is a country which needs healing on many levels - socially, economically, politically and spiritually. Critical, but also deeply sensitive and humane, this book endeavours to improve public policy in Egypt, so that a just social peace can be manifested in the country. Social challenges - such as democratic deficit, press freedom violations and police brutality - are also explored, as well as suggestions how public- and religious education can be improved. Violent Extremism is another topic this book addresses; as both internally and externally, the region is faced with major security problems in terms of countering extremism. Highly innovative and profound, this book explores social scientific-, ethical- and Islamic approaches how human rights and social cohesion can be improved in Egypt.

Foreword / David Smock -- Introduction -- Religion : a blessing or a curse? -- After the collapse of Oslo -- The Alexandria Summit and its aftermath -- Grassroots interreligious dialogues -- Educating the educators -- Other Muslim voices for interreligious peacebuilding -- Symbolic ritual as a mode of peacemaking -- Active solidarity : rabbis for human rights -- From personal grief to collective compassion -- Journeys of personal transformation -- Practical recommendations -- Appendices.

The forces driving ordinary people to leave their homes and put their lives at risk to get to the US border are deeply rooted in Central America's history of inequality and violence, in which the US has long played a defining role. However, the flow of migrants trying to cross the border illegally is not all blowback from US foreign policy. Much of the poverty, injustice and murder in Central America is homegrown; Guatemala being the poorest country in Central America, where 47% of children are chronically malnourished. Guatemala is also the most dangerous country in the world for environment defenders, with at least 16 killed in 2018, most of them indigenous Mayans; with small criminal elites and corrupt politicians having long prospered at the expense of the populations. Hence combating poverty, injustice and corruption must be made a priority in the region - both for local governments and the International Community - so that peace, prosperity and civil rights can finally be manifested in Central America

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the longest on-going hot-and-cold war in the 20th and 21st century. In this book the author argues that human rights standards are the key to a just and sustainable solution and that, tragically, no one has ever made serious use of them in trying to end the conflict. The reader will have a comprehensive view of the conflict, its relationship to surrounding world events, and its similarities to and differences from other conflicts, especially those embedded in American race relations.

A major modern conundrum is how the Arab/Israel conflict remains unresolved and, seemingly, unresolvable. In this inspirational book, Rabbi Michael Lerner suggests that a change in consciousness is crucial. With clarity and honesty, he examines how the mutual demonization and discounting of each sides’ legitimate needs drive the debate, and he points to new ways of thinking that can lead to a solution. Lerner emphasizes that this new approach to the issue requires giving primacy to love, kindness, and generosity. It calls for challenging the master narratives in both Israel and Palestine as well as the false idea that “homeland security” can be achieved through military, political, economic, or media domination. Lerner makes the case that a lasting peace must prioritize helping people on all sides (including Europe and the U.S.) and that real security is best achieved through an ethos of caring and generosity toward “the other.” As many spiritual leaders have taught, problems like these cannot be solved at the same level at which they originated—one must seek higher ground, and that becomes a central task for anyone who wants a sustainable peace. Embracing Israel/Palestine is written for those looking for positive, practical solutions to this ongoing dilemma.

In the midst of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, civil war, and political discord, courageous civilians from both sides are working together toward mutual understanding and peace. In 40 captivating chapters, experts tell intriguing personal stories, interwoven with psychosocial models and principles, describing how people living in hostile cultures can establish harmony. We come to know established programs like Seeds of Peace and Search for Common Ground, as well as lesser-heralded, yet valiant efforts by children and adults of the region. This hope-filled work will be of interest to everyone who cares about peace, as well as to professionals and students in the social sciences, psychology, international relations, public policy, human rights, and cross-cultural studies. In the midst of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, civil war, and political discord, courageous civilians from both sides are working together toward mutual understanding and peace. Israeli Jews and Arabs, and Palestinian Muslims and Christians, young and old, men and women, are cooperating in grassroots people-to-people projects, developing educational programs and creating activities to bridge their differences. Beyond Bullets and Bombs showcases such impressive and important projects that deserve more support and world attention. In 40 captivating chapters, experts tell intriguing personal stories interwoven with psychosocial models and principles proving how people living in hostile cultures can establish peace. This collection is the perfect companion to Kuriansky's earlier book, Terror in the Holy Land: Inside the Anguish of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, an unprecedented work that presents more than 30 chapters written by Israelis, Palestinians, and psychological experts on the underpinnings and effects of the conflict. In the volume at hand, we come to know established programs like Seeds of Peace and Search for Common Ground, as well as lesser-heralded, yet valiant efforts by children and adults of the region working together for peace. Both volumes will be of interest to everyone who cares about peace, as well as to professionals and students in the social sciences, psychology, international relations, public policy, human rights, and cross-cultural studies.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the longest, ongoing hot-and-cold war of the 20th and 21st centuries. It has produced more refugees than any current conflict, generating fully one quarter of all refugees worldwide. Everyone knows that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is important itself, and is also fueling tensions throughout the Middle East. Yet most people shy away from this conflict, claiming it is “just too complicated” to understand. This book is written for people who want a point of entry into the conversation. It offers both a historic and analytic framework. Readers, whether acting as students, parishioners, neighbors, voters, or dinner guests will find in these pages an analysis of the most commonly heard Israeli positions, and a succinct account of the Palestinian voices we seldom hear. I argue that human rights standards have never been used as the basis on which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved and that only these standards can produce a just and sustainable resolution. This book will be useful for classes in Middle East studies, peace and conflict studies, Middle East history, sociology of race, and political science. It can be helpful for church groups, labor groups, or other grass roots organizations committed to social justice, and for all readers who wish to be informed about this important topic. “Professor Spangler’s ... quest for historical and political understanding takes us on a brave and intimate journey into the consequences of Jewish privilege and Jewish victimhood, the agendas of imperial superpowers, and the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.” Alice Rothchild, MD, author of Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience, and producer and director of documentary film, Voices Across the Divide “[A] sharp, poignant, well-documented dossier [that] provides readers with all the most-needed facts to grasp the conflict and get involved.” – Sam Bahour, co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians and business development consultant and activist based in Palestine “[T]his one is exceptional! It recounts a historical tale; it provides theoretical underpinnings; it does comparative work; it examines all the details and aspects of ongoing debates; and it brings all to life with real-life stories ... the wonder of this book is its insistence on hope – not a naïve, idealistic hope, but one accompanied by a tool-box for concrete action that might right the wrongs of this tragic tale.” Anat Biletzki, Professor of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University and Albert Schweitzer Professor of Philosophy, Quinnipiac University; Chairperson of B’Tselem, 2001–2006 Eve Spangler is a sociologist and a human and civil rights activist. For the last decade, her work has focused on the Israel/Palestine conflict; she argues that human rights are the neglected standards that could lead to a just and sustainable solution.

The word “occupation” is not heard in classrooms on the Hebrew University campus, at the heart of Palestinian East Jerusalem. The “war outside” is not spoken of. Israeli and Palestinian students unsettle this denial for the first time in a practice-led course on human rights in the reality around them. Readers join the students for a walking tour of the Palestinian neighborhoods surrounding the Mt. Scopus campus. They explore the complex relations between education, civil engagement, and the occupation, which present themselves in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Issawiyye, Sheikh Jarrah, and Lifta. These relations then make their way into the classroom where Palestinian and Israeli students engage with one another for the first time.