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Mission and Vision:

Every day we are inundated with stories, images and analyses reflecting the complexity and intractability of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Now, more than ever we realize that this conflict has significant ramifications well beyond Palestine and Israel. The American voice is crucial to the resolution of this conflict and a resolution of this conflict is in the direct best interests of America. Only an educated, thoughtful and compassionate American citizenry can make a difference.

Find Common Ground was born at 2002 out of great sense of urgency. A group of individuals from diverse backgrounds, different religion affiliations and ethnicities, and varied levels of activism, came together to think of ways to change the course of the conversation regarding the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict: From the typical media blasting images of who is fighting who and how, to highlighting what is done in the region to bring forward possibilities to resolve the conflict.

Our goals are two-fold:

To strengthen our local diverse community’s work and build good will so we can approach our politicians with a voice that counts and urge them to put their weight behind an agreed upon resolution to the conflict.

To create a platform for these courageous, hard working, on the ground organizations that are doing the kind of face to face work we strongly believe is crucial.

 

 
How it all began:

An article in a local newspaper, the Mercer Island Reporter, gave birth to FindCommonGround in April of 2002. The Pastor Jack Olive, previously pastor at the Mercer Island United Methodist Church and recently appointed to serve at the University Temple United Methodist Church in Seattle, had just returned from a conference at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. At Macalester, Rev.

Olive co-hosted a conference entitled “Finding Common Ground: Steps Toward a Mid-East Peace, “ featuring Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet (Israeli Internal Security), Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, President of Al Quds University, East Jerusalem and former United States Senator, George Mitchell.
Steering Committee Members

Sr. Joyce M. Cox, BVM
Rick Duchaine
The Reverend Paul A. Fauske
The Reverend Robert E. Hughes
Barbara Hurst
Barbara J. Lahav



Rabbi Anson Laytner
Dr. Malka Applebaum Maizel Yaffa Maritz
Lori Markowitz
Glynn Olive
Simcha Shtull

The Reverend Jack D. Olive
Dr. J. Andrew Overman
Paul Shoemaker
Vicki M. Smolke
The Reverend Anni Stedman