The Olive Tree Initiative

Dear Friend,

The Olive Tree Initiative invites you to a dinner benefiting a student trip to Israel-Palestine in September 2008.  This event offers you an opportunity to learn more about this initiative and to meet the students who initiated this project. Also, you will be able to sample cultural dishes provided by our community and enjoy a modern spin on Middle Eastern music by our guest performers, Knossos. All funds raised at this event will be used for students’ travel expenses.

The Olive Tree Initiative was inspired by the need to have a forum where students could discuss issues concerning the situation inIsrael and Palestine in a constructive and respectful manner.  We are also motivated by a desire to see for ourselves the faces and hear the voices of people whose lives are impacted by this conflict. 

The primary goal of The Olive Tree Initiative is to hear perspectives from Israeli and Palestinian academics, community leaders, and activists, who have first-hand knowledge of the conflict. 

Upon our return, we will hold a seminar for the UCI student body and local community to discuss and reflect upon our trip.  We hope to keep this Initiative going at UCI and within our respective communities in the years to come. 

Please join us for a community dinner benefiting the Olive Tree Initiative on:


To support our community dinner, we invite you to contribute a dish that will serve 8 or more guests.  While our food theme is Middle Eastern, all dishes are welcome. 

For more information about our intiative, or to find out about our upcoming events, please contact us at olivetreeinitiative@googlegroups.com or 949-824-8687 or visit our webpage Also, if you could not atttend but would like to contribute click here.

We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you at one of our many events.


Sincerely, 

The Olive Tree Initiative Students

Palestinians and Israelis
Working together to
End the conflict

Add your voice, join us for
OneVoice
We’ll be joined by grassroots activists

Malaka Samara
 of Palestine and
Shani Gershon
of Israel

Co-sponsored by the the Society of Arab Students, Anteaters for Israel and the Middle East Studies Student Initiative.

Conversations about Difficult Dialogues in the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict

click here for more details about the event

UCI War Veterans: Their Experiences in Iraq Revealed

Michael Flores, US Army;
Kevin Chiao, US Marine Corps;
Erik Christensen, US Army;
Ben Mayer, US Army;
An Nguyen, US Army;
Thomas Sim, US Marine Corps

Co-Sponsored by the UCI Veterans Student Union, the International Studies Program, The Student Veterens of America, and the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding.

So Cal Women Leaders
Meet for Trans-Partisan Dialogue
Saturday, January 26, 1-5 p.m.,
UC Irvine Student Center; Doheney Conference Room

On Saturday January 26 from 1-5 pm, women of this region will have the opportunity to participate in Women, Politics and Leadership: www.gtwsocal.org

A Trans-Partisan Dialogue for the Women of Southern California . Women from all perspectives are invited to join in a unique dialogue to explore the common ground beyond our political differences. The event will be held at the UC-Irvine Student Center .

This is not a typical 'political' event to promote any candidate or issue. It is a rare opportunity to be part of a conversation about the many facets of the relationship between women and politics. We know that you can contribute valuable insight and unique life learning to this important conversation.

Students from area colleges and universities are encouraged to participate and provided full scholarships. Please contact Joy Adams at harrietadams@cox.net  to register as a student.

Women, Politics and Leadership is co-sponsored by UCI - School of Social Studies, UCI - Center for Citizen Peace Building, UCI - Department of Women's Studies, UCI - International Studies Program and hosted by Gather the Women- Southern California.

We sincerely hope that you will join us on January 26 and help spread the word to your network of women.

Virginia Haufler
University of Maryland

Virginia Haufler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park. A political scientist by training, she specializes in international political economy, particularly the role of the private sector in world politics. Her current research examines why the foreign policy community now seeks to incorporate multinational corporations into conflict prevention initiatives in the developing world. From 1999-2000, Virginia Haufler was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she created the project on the Role of the Private Sector in International Affairs. She has taught at Cornell University, UCLA, Nankai University (China) and Budapest University of Economics. She has authored and edited a number of books, in addition to articles in professional and popular journals, chapters in edited volumes, and interviews in print and on radio.

Recommended Readings; Governing Corporations in Zones of Conflict: Issues, Actors and Institutions

“Corporations and the Management of Conflict”

Co-Sponsored by the University of California, Irvine Program in International Studies, the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding and The Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies