A sharing of ideas during Three Faiths: One God in spring 2007.

Avi Goldman, president of the Cleveland Holocaust Center, speaks during the Holocaust Educators Conference in May 1999.

Shalmi Barmore, Founder and Director of Education Culture Heritage Origins (ECHO) and past founder and director of Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem speaks at the Holocaust Educators Conference in May 1999

Messages of Peace

On the journey toward peace and understanding, dialogue is often the first step.

The Tolerance Resource Center has promoted such dialogue in the form of conferences, panel discussions and community events, bringing together religious and community groups that have historical enmity toward one another. These events have opened channels of communication, fostering respect among these groups.

According to Sr. Mary Louise Trivison, a founder of the Tolerance Resource Center and a recognized peacemaker in the Greater Cleveland community, such exchanges often have had a divine quality. “Gathering together a group with diverse outlooks is a wonderful way to call on the Spirit to come down and bring a sense of wonder and awe.”

And although it is honorable and right, taking the first steps toward dialogue is not easy. Last year, during the interfaith dialogue series Three Faiths: One God, Sr. Mary Louise recalled that there were some challenging issues to overcome between the Catholic, Jewish and Muslim participants. “It took more than one evening to remove these barriers. But in the end, many in the group were able to say ‘We are friends.’”

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A panel of local Native Americans discuss social issues in March 2003	Audience participation during the Holocaust Educators Conference.
Eleanor Raper Kocevar ‘52 (left) receives Special Recognition Awards from Mayor Beryl Rothschild and the city of University Heights, Ohio in November 2002	Holocaust Survivor Eva Schloss speaks after the presentation of "…And Then They Came for Me" in October 2006

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