FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Voices of Peace Summit Draws over 19,000 Viewers, Uniting Diverse Voices Around Shared Vision
WASHINGTON, DC — It may sound like the opening line of a complicated joke, but when an Arab-Israeli civil rights activist, a Rabbi settler from the West Bank, a Palestinian Evangelical pastor, and a Palestinian Muslim professor each spoke at the 2025 Voices for Peace Summit, they echoed strikingly similar calls for dialogue, understanding, and peace.
The summit drew an extraordinary audience of 19,000 viewers, who joined live to witness separate yet harmonizing conversations that highlighted diversity, mutual respect, and common purpose.
Featured speakers included Mohammad Darawshe, a leading Arab-Israeli civil rights activist; Rev. Dr. Yohanna Katanacho, a prominent Palestinian Evangelical theologian; Prof. Mohammed Dajani, a Palestinian nationalist scholar; and Rabbi Shaul Judelman, a Jewish settler based in the West Bank.
“The success of this summit shows the real hunger people have for peace-building dialogue,” said Dr. Marcie Lenk, the Summit Program Host. “Our diverse speakers each offered powerful insights independently, but their shared vision speaks volumes about the path forward for peace.”
“Our speakers came from very different backgrounds and spoke in separate sessions—but what stood out was how similar their messages were,” remarked Pastor Todd Stavrakos, Executive Director of Pathways. “These distinct conversations collectively demonstrated the extraordinary potential for genuine dialogue and peace.”
Episcopal Bishop Peter Eaton, a summit attendee, praised the event: “Pathways provides for all those who are seriously committed to finding new paradigms for reconciliation, mutual respect and understanding, peace-building in Israel/Palestine, and important perspectives and resources. The webinar ‘Voices for Peace’ is a fine example of this urgent work.”
Viewers from around the globe engaged actively in the sessions, underscoring the widespread desire for meaningful discussions about coexistence and reconciliation.
Due to the overwhelming response, Pathways has made the full summit highlights available online, continuing to foster dialogue long after the livestream concluded.
For more information or to view highlights, visit pathways4peace.org/summit2025.
Pathways for Middle East Peace is a nonprofit educational organization that works to support collaboration between mainline Protestant churches and the Jewish community.
We advocate for peace and reconciliation through dialogue and building relationships. While the world seeks to build walls and silos, we believe that Christ has created a pathway for us through the example of His life, ministry, death and resurrection: to build community by bringing people together.