In addition to confronting tough political issues in the Middle East, US agencies and departments across the government are targeting violent extremism, human rights, and civil rights at home and abroad, says the Obama administration’s special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. More →

June 4, 2010

Rami Elhanan and Mazen Faraj are members of the Parents Circle-Families Forum, a grassroots group that unites bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have lost immediate family members to the Middle East conflict. Together they promote a message of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. More →

March 5, 2010

KIM LAWTON, correspondent: In Jerusalem’s Old City, the Spafford Children’s Center is a welcome oasis from the turbulence that is all too present here. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital, and the ongoing conflict can take a … More →

August 14, 2009

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: As the US tries again to broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, American Jews are speaking in unusually diverse voices about what Israel should do. Generally, older Orthodox Jews are strongly opposed to anything … More →

June 12, 2009

Read more of the Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly interviews about American Jews and Israel: Rabbi Avi Weiss Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, New York: America is my home. I’m grateful to the US forever and ever. Israel is … More →

June 12, 2009

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: We have a discussion today of President Obama’s speech to the Muslim world and the reaction to it. Kate Seelye was a longtime Middle East correspondent, based in Beirut. She is now a vice president of the … More →

June 5, 2009

[myplaylist=20] DEBORAH POTTER, guest anchor: President Obama has added a stop in Saudi Arabia to his upcoming trip to the Middle East and Europe. He’ll meet with King Abdullah in Riyadh on Wednesday (June 3). Obama then will fly to … More →

May 29, 2009

[MYPLAYLIST=19] KIM LAWTON:  From the moment he arrived in Israel, Pope Benedict XVI made peace his central theme. Benedict said over and over again that this was a spiritual pilgrimage, not a political mission. Yet he couldn’t avoid the complicated … More →

May 15, 2009

Visit our interactive map for a closer look at some of the places Pope Benedict XVI is visiting in Jerusalem during his pilgrimage to the Middle East.

May 11, 2009

Watch more of R & E’s interview with Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee about Middle East peace, and the role the leaders of the major faiths should play in facilitating the peace process. More →

May 8, 2009