Chancellor Drake Hears Student Insights on Middle East During Olive Tree Initiative Event

Fourteen students who traveled in September to Israel and Palestine as part of the Olive Tree Initiative shared their deepened understanding of the conflicts in the Middle East Oct. 23 with Chancellor Michael Drake and approximately 400 other members of the campus and larger community. The program, “Beyond Stereotypes: Faces and Voices of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” was the first a series of public events to be sponsored by the group.

The Olive Tree Initiative was formed in 2007 by a group of UCI students who wanted to learn firsthand about life in Israel and Palestine. Students of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and unaffiliated backgrounds spent 18 months schooling themselves on the issues and raising money from diverse community groups to fund the trip. Their mission now is to ensure that the journeys continue and to share the learning with the campus community and beyond.

Chancellor Michael Drake applauds the candor of Olive Tree Initiative students who shared their insights into conflicts in the Middle East.

Chancellor Michael Drake visits with Amanda Naoufal and Paul Maguire, members of Olive Tree Initiative, following the forum that drew a crowd of about 400.

A panel of participants in the Olive Tree Initiative trip to Israel and Palestine talk about the unique knowledge they gained firsthand from people who live the conflict day-to-day.

Photos by Daniel A. Anderson, University Communications
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