Media Highlights:

[New University] Expanding on the need for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Dr. Gershon Baskin spoke on peacebuilding last week.

Claudia Cheffs | New University

[The Chronicle of Philanthropy] Daniel Wehrenfennig takes students from opposing sides of complex, deeply entrenched international conflicts—such as between Israel and Palestine or Turkey and Armenia—and helps them understand each other.

Olive Tree Initiative students speak with the architect of the barrier between Israel and the West Bank, retired Israel Defense Forces colonel Danny Tirza, on a tour of Jerusalem.

[The Daily Nexus] “Our goal is to go on the trip and learn and meet people with different perspectives and open our own eyes,” graduate advisor for the Olive Tree Initiative, Mike Schwartz, said. “But we also can do a service for the people that we are meeting with just by showing that we come from such different backgrounds, but we can come together and learn together and be friends — like actually be friends.”

[New University] The Olive Tree Initiative hosted “Conflict and Identity”  a presentation delivered by UC Irvine students regarding their return from Israel, Jordan and Palestine, occurred on Tuesday night in the Crystal Cove Auditorium. A reception followed their messages allowing students the time to ask questions.

[Daily Bruin] As they walked into an ice cream shop in Tel Aviv, Israel, this summer, three American undergraduates were approached by an Israeli woman and questioned about their friendship.

[The Jerusalem Post] Is the Olive Tree Initiative, an interfaith program that brings American students here to learn about the Israeli-Arab conflict, offering its participants the appropriate mosaic of views?

[New University] My time at UC Irvine began almost two years ago when I arrived as a slightly disinterested transfer student, and the plan at that point was pretty straightfo rward. I envisioned myself commuting to school every day, heading to class with maybe a quick stop for coffee beforehand, then driving back home to chill out with my cats, just like I did at community college. I had already been informed that everyone at UCI was “anti-social” anyway, so I figured it would be easy enough.

[Daily Bruin] Political analysts David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari had a simple message when they spoke to a room of about 172 people about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

[Daily Pilot] Group of UCI students takes trips to Middle East to talk to officials, activists in both Israeli and Palestinian territories.

[Orange County Register] -IRVINE, Larry Kugelman and Prof. David Snow, board members, Olive Tree Initiative at UC Irvine: The article “UC Irvine students met with Hamas leader” [Local, March 31] neglects to provide the context for the Olive Tree Initiative program.