Father Elias Chacour is a Catholic priest in Galilee, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and now the founder of the first Arab-Christian-Israeli institute of higher education. The new school, called Mar Elias University, offers its courses primarily in English and hopes to attract students not only in its region but also from around the world. 

In 1999, Fr. Elias decided to expand his interreligious Mar Elias Educational Institution, to include a university faculty. The university offers degrees in communications, chemistry, computer science, and several other fields with more faculties and courses to be added soon. Fr. Elias hopes that the university will provide a serious academic environment for people of all faiths, encouraging dialogue toward peace in the region. In pursuing peace, Fr. Elias refuses to take sides. When Mar Elias University opened, he responded to a questioner, “The Jew was not born to police the Palestinian, and the Palestinian was not born with two stones…If I do not make concessions on what I deserve, I cannot ask you to do the same.”

Fostering leadership for peace on both sides of the conflict is one of Fr.Elias' goals in education. “If we don't work side by side we shall continue the tragic dance of death to hang beside each other, God forbid,” he said.

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