Founded in 2001, PeacePlayers International Middle East  uses the game of basketball to educate and unite Arab and Jewish children between the ages of 10-16 and they base their work on the simple yet powerful premise that "children who play together, can learn to live together."  The program has worked with over 2.400 children and uses basketball as a tool to unite youth in divided communities, to teach life lessons in sport and to develop leaders who will advocate peaceful coexistence with their friends and neighborhs. In addition to playing basketball on integrated teams, Arab and Jewish youth participate in dialogue, life skills sessions and leadership development. Christian and other organizations now have the opportunity to include an exciting peace-focued program as part of a tour to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

With a site visit to one of PPI - ME's programs, clients will come away with an intimate look into co-existence. Groups can visit teams in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Abu Gosh, and Jaffa. PPI - ME teams are comprised of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim children playing together. Visitors can take part in joint practice or see PPI - ME's integrated teams compete in games and tournaments.    

Family groups can bring their children to practice with PPI-ME teams, allowing them to take part in these cross-cultural exchanges. Children can shoot hoops with their Arab and Jewish peers. Teen groups can participate in basketball clinics run by certified PPI-ME coaches and former American college basketball players and coaches. Visitors of all ages will enjoy seeing PPI - ME in action.  

To learn more about PeacePlayers International please visit www.peaceplayersintl.org

Come and see "The Invocation" a feature documentary dealing with the interrelationships between connectivity, faith, unity, human rights and peace education. The film is an invitation to elevate our school of thinking and change our code of acting and relating with one another. The Invocation showcases the lamplight of the human desire for peace and tranquility, proving that it burns all across the world, no matter what circumstance, ethnicity, faith or nationality.

The producers of the film traveled throughout the planet to interview the world’s most influential Human Rights activists, Peace Educators, Spiritual Leaders, Scientists, Historians, Politicians, Philosophers and Entertainers, including The Dalia Lama, Mark Wahlberg, Malcolm McDowell, Oliver Stone, Stewart Copeland, Deepak Chopra, Desmond Tutu, Karen Armstrong and the leaders of the faith communities that reside in the Middle East. Through a combination of very powerful visuals and inspiring music, The Invocation inspires us to go beyond our differences and embark on a quest through time and space, through the body and soul of all of the people on the planet. The Invocation demonstrates how fear, greed, triumphalism and intolerance are destroying the planet we all share and challenges us to ponder the relative nature of what we have been educated to know, what we think we know, and what's worth knowing at all. As a visual trip for the eyes as much as an emotional journey for the spirit, The Invocation explores the connection between various concepts of the Divine and sustainable peace while reminding us how movement, composition, light, color and music interspersed with inspiring words can be stunningly shaped to create a compelling tool for effective human rights work and peace education.

The movie is very relevant to the work of Human Rights, Peace and Interfaith Understanding, and will be shown at 16:00 on Friday April 24 in the main auditorium of the Tantur Institute for Ecumenical Studies in Gilo (http://tantur.org/). The movie is part of the IPCRI WORKSHOP FOR PEACE EDUCATION. see the entire program at http://www.ipcri.org/files/pewprogapril-09.html

During the last two weeks of August the period of "Prayer for Peace" begins, where individual Christian communities gather together to pray for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land. The services are held at 6:00 pm daily in Jerusalem, beginning August 15^th and running through the 28^th of the month. Each day the services are held within a different community in the city.

Daily at 6 p.m.

Saturday, August 15th Armenian Catholic Church Old City, Via Dolorosa

Sunday, August 16th St. George's Anglican Cathedral 20, Nablus Road

Monday, August 17th Dormition Abbey, Mount Zion

Tuesday, August 18th St. James Church, Nablus Road, Beit Hanina

Wednesday, August 19th Ecce Homo, Old City, Via Dolorosa

Thursday, August 20th Pater Noster Church, Mount of Olives

Friday, August 21st Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Old City, near Holy Sepulchre

Saturday, August 22nd Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Off Prophet Street, West Jerusalem

Sunday, August 23rd St. Andrew's Church of Scotland, near Railway Station

Monday, August 24th St. Mark's Church, Syrian Orthodox, Old City. Jaffa gate

Tuesday, August 25th Armenian Cathedral of St. James, Old City, Armenian Quarter

Wednesday, August 26th St. Anthony's Church, Coptic Orthodox, Old City, near Holy Sepulchre

Thursday. August 27th Tantur Ecumenical Centre, Road to Bethlehem.

Friday, August 28th Pro Cathedral, Latin Patriarchate, Jaffa Gate