'Father of Peace' Dr. Ephraim Isaac Visits HIU Peacebuilders

 

Co-founder of the Ad Hoc Ethiopian Peace Committee and the Peace and Development Organization, Dr. Ephraim Isaac is a leader in the world of peacebuilding. In his native Ethiopia, he is known as the “father of peace.”

He is also a scholar of religion, which is why his recent visit to Hartford International University for Religion and Peace was so relevant. Dr. Isaac, who is Jewish, met with the inaugural cohort of 10 students in the MA in International Peacebuilding (MAP) program and answered their many questions.

MAP student Yazeed Kamaldien of South Africa, who is Muslim, asked Dr. Isaac to comment on the position that “you can’t have peace without justice.”

“Justice is something relative,” Dr. Isaac said. “You think justice is on your side, but there has to be compromise. … It’s not easy.”

Dr. Isaac gave several examples of individuals and nations that didn’t speak for years before finally agreeing to have a dialogue. “This idea of justice,” he said.

 

“Only God knows sometimes. The ultimate thing is to say ‘We are all mortal.’”

Yohanes Parihala, a Christian from Indonesia, asked Dr. Isaac how he works through the type of religious conflicts that happen between Christians and Muslims in his home country.

“I’ve always wondered if people understand what religion is about,” Dr. Isaac said. “It’s one of the most complicated issues.”

Religion is too often used to draw lines, he said, when it should be used “to promote love and understanding. … But I still believe religion can play a very important role” in promoting peace.

Dr. Isaac received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught there as well. He has also taught at Princeton University, Princeton Seminary, Hunter College, Bard College, and Hebrew University. Dr. Isaac’s decades of work for peace have led him to be deeply involved in international organizations dedicated to interreligious peacebuilding.  He is a board member at both Fellowship in Prayer and Temple of Understanding, and is active as a peacemaker with the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.

Over many decades, he has been involved in peace negotiations and reconciliation in African countries, as well as in countries around the world, including Ireland.

Mbeki Yunana, a Christian from Nigeria, said she hopes to spend time with Dr. Isaac again.

"Time with Dr. Isaac was all the theory we've been studying, personified," she said. "One thing he said that stuck was, 'Rooted in every conflict is human emotions."

Eamon Ormseth, a Christian from Montana, agreed with that assessment.

"Through relating the colorful stories of his life experience bringing people together, Dr. Isaac embodied what it means to transform conflict by dealing with its emotional aspects."