SALAAM~SHALOM~PEACE

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

My 16 years in Israel-Palestine had a deep impact on me. My friendships across the lines of these interacting faiths and politics, have been both beautiful and painful to experience what connects yet divides us. Over the last 43 years as I've come to better understand the Palestinian experience I've come to feel a deepening sadness at the alienation and injustices perpetuated by those who see only one side of the story and only their own victimization.

Having been inspired by many people I knew working across the lines in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza I decided to pursue studies in sociology, religion, and more recently in peacebuilding and conflict transformation. In the process I became intrigued by the politics of Jesus and the nonviolent strategies of leaders such as Gandhi, Ghaffar Khan, Martin Luther King, Jr et al. I came to recognize the interconnectedness of many of our faith traditions and the common ground we share as human beings in the quest for the meaning of our existence. Despite the reality of religious differences and the distortions of the central truths and teachings of the prophets that so frequently contribute to conflict, I have become convinced that the central values of compassion, nonviolence, and peacemaking that lie at the heart of our faiths also draw us together as a human family and constitute sacred common ground.

This sense of our common spirituality also led me to the arts, an vocational focus of my work the last 25 years. I have worked in several media including photography, ceramics, sculpture, and multiple media pyrogravure coloree.

Since September of 2001 and particularly as the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon intensified and deepened my sadness, I have also felt a sense of urgency about the need for peacemaking if we are to survive as a human family. I hope to draw from my experiences in the Middle East, along with my interests in interfaith encounter, development, the arts, and education, to work at peacebuilding.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

I lived in Israel from 1953-1971, and 1973-1974. I've been a student of biology, sociology, world religions, theology, ethics, arts, and now conflict transformation, development, and peacebuilding. I hold an MA in Religion (1978) from Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and an MA in Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation, and Development (2009) from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

Israel, Palestine, Egypt, United States

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

United States

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Advisory Board emerging Center for Interfaith Engagement, EMU

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://kreiderart.blogspot.com/

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Conflict Resolution, Culture, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Environment, Security, Social Entreprenuership

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Advocacy, Curriculum Development, Evaluation, Program Design, Research, Qualitative Skills, Training

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Interfaith peacebuilding, transforming traumatized societies through the arts, development and security, participatory action research - community organizing for indigenous social change