The Peace Ministry Network, Meadville Lombard and Global Action to Prevent War (GAPW) presented an "Interfaith Peace Symposium" at Meadville Lombard Theological School December 12 and 13, 2010.

In a major victory for activists in the Sudan divestment campaign, TIAA-CREF has become the first large U.S. investment management company to sell its shares of Asian energy companies because of their failure to take meaningful steps to help end the genocide in Darfur.

The action follows a strong warning by TIAA-CREF last March that it would divest from companies that ignored its request to help end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and that took no action by the end of 2009. The divestment action was announced Monday, January 4, the first business day of the new year"

"We always believe engagement is far more effective than divestment," said Hye-Won Chli, TIAA-CREF's head of corporate governance. "However, in this situation, engagement was not effective, and we believed the gravity and magnitude of the situation in the Sudan required a different response."

UUSC President Charlie Clements said he is delighted with the decision by TIAA-CREF, which is the organization's pension-fund provider, for its strong commitment to genocide-free investing. He commended the firm for its leadership in the Sudan divestment campaign and for demonstrating its dedication to socially responsible investing.

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The New York Times carried a moving  story today about two hospitalized children – an Israeli boy severely wounded by a Hamas rocket, and a Palestinian girl paralyzed by an Israeli missile. I’m glad the editors gave the story the front-page display it deserves.

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For a small group of 40 like-minded individuals who were present at the Ponsonby Mosque in Central Auckland, November 15 was an important day in their lives, soon to become a significant occasion for New Zealand and humankind itself.

That was the day when the New Zealand Chapter of the Charter for Compassion was launched jointly by Aarif Rasheed (of the Rasheed Memorial Trust) and Dave Moskovitz of the New Zealand Jewish Council and the Union for Progressive Judaism, demonstrating the union of minds and hearts.

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