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Matt Gordner's Page

Latest Activity

Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta liked Matt Gordner's discussion Competing Narratives and Competing Truths of Israeli-Palestinian Peace and Conflict
Apr 5
Matt Gordner shared their discussion on Twitter
Apr 5
Matt Gordner posted a discussion

Competing Narratives and Competing Truths of Israeli-Palestinian Peace and Conflict

Call to Dialogue:            Israeli-Palestinian dialogue is often criticized as a method of “normalizing” the conflict or “preaching to the converted.” Goals to reconcile disparate narratives between “Palestinian” and “Israeli” positions are frequently cited as impossible, if undesirable, owing to the sensitivity of the past and the desire to maintain the independence of the narratives involved. Efforts to foster tolerance are continually viewed as cloaked tactics of perpetuating uneven power…See More
Apr 5
Matt Gordner posted an event
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Competing Narratives and Competing Truths of Israeli-Palestinian Peace and Conflict at University of Toronto's MultiFaith Centre

April 9, 2013 all day
Initially intended primarily for University of Toronto students and faculty, we have a few spots left, so I thought "the MEpeace community is surely the first place to turn!"Our dialogue has three goals: (1) Engaging in dialogue as an end in itself in order to bring about greater mutual understanding, dignity, and respect for the multitude of narratives and truths endemic to Israeli-Palestinian peace and conflict;(2) Developing a model that serves as a corrective to the many criticisms of…See More
Apr 5
NILAY BAND left a comment for Matt Gordner
"Hello Matt, Wishing you Pious, Peaceful & Prosperous future & requesting you to join our World Peace Movement. Please associate with World Peace & Friendship Mission -- India to South Africa. Nilay Band ( India ) Team Leader Site -…"
Oct 25, 2012
Matt Gordner updated their profile
Jul 9, 2012
Matt Gordner posted a status
"Will be in Tunis soon! If any Peacemakers in Tunisia want to connect, I'd love to meet up!!!"
Jul 9, 2012
Matt Gordner posted a discussion

I am looking for Palestinians who want to take part in a dialogue with Jewish American leaders

Hello friends!This isn't much of a discussion, it's more of an announcement, but I didn't know how else to get the word out. I'm currently taking part in a Dorot Fellowship for Jewish leaders and I'm putting on a conference on "Palestinian identity, culture, and politics." I'd like to find Palestinians, either in the Diaspora or in the West Bank and Gaza, who are pretty good at speaking/typing English and who would want to take part in a dialogue with American Jewish leaders on the…See More
Dec 31, 2011
Matt Gordner might attend an event

Online Peace Talks - August 14 at Chat: http://mepeace.org/chat

August 14, 2011 from 8pm to 9:30pm
http://www.mepeace.org/events/online-peace-talks-august 14mepeace.org is proud to invite you to our 32nd Online Peace Talks - hosted by Eyal and Waleed. Join us Sunday and let’s discuss the current events and issues together. We always appreciate your contributions to make mepeace.org a platform for cross-border…See More
Aug 13, 2011
Eyal Raviv left a comment for Matt Gordner
"Looking good..."
Apr 6, 2011
Matt Gordner updated their profile photo
Apr 6, 2011
Matt Gordner might attend an event
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MEPEACE Chat - Mar 27 at MEPEACE Chat (http://www.mepeace.org/chat)

March 27, 2011 from 8pm to 9:30pm
Event link:http://www.mepeace.org/events/mepeace-chat-mar-27  We're proud to invite you to another MEPEACE Chat Workshop, taking place next Sunday (27 March) at 20.00 Jerusalem time in our chatroom. After having successfully accomplished a three-workshop-series on a future Palestinian state, it's appropriate now to discuss a current topic in the world's headlines: The attacks on Libya and the question whether there…See More
Mar 25, 2011
Matt Gordner might attend an event
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MEPEACE Encounter - Feb 27 at MEPEACE Chat (http://www.mepeace.org/chat)

February 27, 2011 from 8pm to 9:30pm
Event link: http://www.mepeace.org/events/mepeace-encounter-feb-27  mepeace.org is proud to invite you to our second 'MEPEACE Encounter' live event, which we will hold on Sunday, 27 February, at 20.00 Jerusalem time. Four weeks ago, we launched MEPEACE Encounter for the very first time and had a very fruitful discussion with Gershon Baskin. Now it's time to move on and announce the second Encounter event. In MEPEACE Encounter,…See More
Feb 25, 2011
Matt Gordner and Freeman Poritz are now friends
Feb 17, 2011
Matt Gordner replied to the discussion 'MEPEACE Board Meeting - February 16, 2011'
"There are so many very good suggestions and lines of thinking in this transcript regarding the direction in which MEpeace should head. From what I understand, Eyal is concerned with taking MEpeace as a network and transforming that network, composed…"
Feb 17, 2011
Matt Gordner joined a group
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Peace for Palestine bloc

This is a work in progress group that is a peace for Palestine group, to help build a strong Palestinian camp internationally. The Israelis have Gush Shalom. We need to network with them and other groups. We have to be another voice.See More
Nov 19, 2010

Profile Information

My personal story:
I'm an incoming PhD student (Political Science) at the University of Toronto and a Trudeau Scholar studying democratic transition in the Middle East. I recently competed a Master's degree in Political Science (Political Theory and Middle Eastern Politics) at the University of Alberta. While in Edmonton, I co-founded 'Peace by Piece', a graduate student organization whose mission is to "encourage and facilitate constructive, meaningful, inclusive, and respectful personal and communal dialogue in promoting mutual understanding and appreciation for divergent perspectives on sensitive political, social, and economic issues through advocacy, participation and educational activities." The Peace by Piece Initiative is now a non-profit organization through the province of Ontario in Canada. My concern with Middle East peace grew exponentially following my experiences while studying at York University, Canada, wherein Jewish and Arab/Muslim students often clashed in protest, rarely productively, and often destructively. After completing my undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science there I spent two years studying a Master's degree at Tel Aviv University (Middle Eastern History) to gain first hand experience of the cultures and narratives of the region. Following a short post as a political consulting with the PA in Ramallah's Ministry of Foreign Affairs office (2009), I decided to develop a perspective that could be considered the "radical centre," meaning that I am consciously critical of the viewpoints on both the Left and Right. Instead, I urge sympathy towards all 'sides,' all truths, and all narratives. To this end, I support and promote dialogue as a means of moving from positive forms of tolerance to genuine acceptance and understanding of the 'other,' the endpoint being transforming the 'other' into a form of 'self.'
Why I want peace:
Why wouldn't I want peace?! In addition to the obvious and intrinsic value peace brings to the Middle East, this conflict has significant spillover to the region and the globe. In addition to seeking out Middle Eastern peace for denizens and citizens of Middle Eastern states, I am concerned with how Middle Eastern peace affects diasporas and the international community. Many confront the conflict with openness and respect, but many also perpetuate and deploy bias claims that are fueled, no doubt, by unfortunate ignorance, hate and fear. I believe that if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be solved (whatever that means), peace in the region, and perhaps in other conflicts across the globe, may follow. Palestinian-Israeli peace could very well be a model for peace between warring factions worldwide.
Interests and activities:
My interests include reading philosophy, history and politics, playing the piano, guitar, and drums, swimming, hiking, cycling, basketball, baseball, and any form of relaxation in the wilderness, whether canoeing, kayaking, or camping.
Something you didn't know about me:
I don't believe in nationalism, but I advocate for a two state solution nonetheless.
Favorite website:
http://freespeech.org
How I found mepeace.org:
Researching peace NGO's catered to the Middle East.
What I want to achieve here:
I'd like to make contacts with like-minded individuals who strive for peace, and to commit whatever knowledge and experiences I have to the cause of peace in the Middle East. If this is general it's because my intentions are really quite overarching.
Do you promise to respect others and our guidelines and not spam?
Yes

Comment Wall (8 comments)

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At 10:37am on October 25, 2012, NILAY BAND said…
Hello Matt,

Wishing you Pious, Peaceful & Prosperous future & requesting you to join our World Peace Movement.
Please associate with World Peace & Friendship Mission -- India to South Africa.

Nilay Band ( India )
Team Leader
Site - www.globalpeople-forpeace.org ( schedule of mission will update soon )
Link - http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpt3k2
Email - nasasporting@gmail.com / nilayband@yahoo.com
At 1:35pm on April 6, 2011, Eyal Raviv said…
Looking good...
At 5:36pm on December 31, 2009, fesalk411 said…
A True Story By Faisal Al-kateep
I am a Palestinian Arab from Hizmeh, a village between Jerusalem and Ramallah. When I was 15 years old I fought against the Israeli Occupation in search of freedom. At that time I thought every Jewish person, whether soldier or citizen, man or woman, young or old, should be killed. I rejected the right for any Jew to live and every Jew was a target. I was just a kid, believe me, and I didn’t understand anything about politics or the Arab-Israeli conflict. I was arrested and sat in jail for 12 years. This was during the first intifada from 1987. At that time nobody talked about peace but only of violence. I matured during my time in jail. I started studying and reading books on politics, literature, poetry, and about the Madrid Conference.

It gave me hope to live in peace and dignity. I learned that violence only breeds violence and that peace is the only solution for the two nations, the only way for both to have a respectful and beautiful future. We live on the same land. We are neighbors. We drink the same water and both pray to a monotheistic God. We must live in peace on the basis of religion for God and land for everyone.
At 8:39pm on September 25, 2009, JC | WorriedLebanese said…
Sorry Matt, but I haven't worked on outposts and settlements in the West Bank. Have you tried looking into Peace Now's site. They are quite good at monitoring constructions, so they probably possess the information you need. And there's Gush Shalom (here's an interesting memo they wrote: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/9422322/Gush-Shalom-memo ).
I also found this article to be quite informative (http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/2905.htm) of the dynamics.
best of luck for your presentation
At 12:59am on September 24, 2009, JC | WorriedLebanese said…
Fascinating things in your profile info sheet. If you plan to come to Lebanon (the country is very much part of the Israeli-Arab, Israeli-Palestinian conflict), please contact me.
At 6:52am on September 23, 2009, windsfeather said…
Welcome to mepeace,
Did you study the brigades? did you ever find the one thread each one had in common. I noticed you don't agree with nationalism and I am finding each mafia group within this region and many other countries have studied one theory. Which I find amazing. "Marxism." I still think Karl Marx was a fraud! and believe the man who did the work did a great job. I am still wondering if so many people went to varied colleges and studied and then created varied political parties with the mind set of Marxism is it achievable? I think it is not. I think with this the community of two cultures will crumble. Just curious what you think of a two state solution created by two groups that neither have a true constitution. Without this the structure of political mafia groups remains. If the political party lines become divided how can the common thread remain without the "goal" being the same.
At 8:39pm on July 18, 2009, Mahmoud Abu-Laban said…



مرحبا عزيزي !

أهلا بك في منبر صانعي السلام , أتمنى أن تشاركنا في أي فكرة أو تعليق تساعد في أعادة الأمل في السلام .

مع خالص الشكر و الاحترام لك .
محمود
At 1:34pm on July 18, 2009, Eyal Raviv said…
Welcome to mepeace.org. Will be glad to connect on your documentary and work.
 
 
 

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