The Search for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land is a curriculum designed to be taught in a small-group environment over a period of five weeks with one 90-120 minute session each week, based on discussion time. Each unit will consist of a preliminary reading text, a multimedia presentation, a series of group discussion questions, and a list of further resources. The first two units will provide participants with general background information on Christianity in the Holy Land, the origins of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, and how the occupation has affected Christians in the region. The second two units will focus on the contemporary political, social, and economic realities facing the peoples of Israel and Palestine, including the status of Jerusalem and life under the occupation. The last session will equip participants with the skills they will need to be able to advocate on behalf of Israelis and Palestinians to their representatives in government. Each session’s video is approximately 50 minutes, and includes discussion questions. 

Participants will learn… 

1. Who the Christians of the Holy Land are, how they practice Christianity, why they are important to the global Church, and what challenges Christianity faces in the regiontoday.
2. Why Israelis and Palestinians both claim historic ties to the Land, why these claims are in conflict, and when that conflict began.
3. How Palestinians and Israelis view the conflict differently, why these different perspectives on history make achieving peace difficult, and how learning to view the conflict from the perspective of the other is a necessary part of reconciliation.
4. Why Jerusalem is sacred for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and why it is an important national symbol for both Israelis and Palestinians.
5. How the continuing occupation of the Palestinian territories has harmed both Israeli and Palestinian societies and the realities of contemporary human rights concerns in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt).
6. How to be an effective advocate for a just peace in Israel and Palestine.

If you are interested in the curriculum, please click the link below to fill out the interest form and make your secure donation. CMEP asks you to consider a donation of $175, but if this is not possible for you, please donate as you are able.