Rev. Dr. Demetrios Tonias represents His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston as a member of a delegation that visited Israel

On March 4-11, 2012, the Rev. Dr. Demetrios Tonias represented His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston as a member of a delegation that visited Israel under the auspices of the AJC (American Jewish Committee). In addition to Fr. Tonias, the diverse, high-level leadership group from the Boston included: Ambassador Barry White, U.S. Ambassador to Norway; Sohrab Ahmari, Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and noted author and co-editor of “Arab Spring Dreams: The Next Generation Speaks Out for Freedom and Justice from North Africa to Iran”; and Jim Antal, Minister and President of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ. The Boston leadership group met with Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and Dr. Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority along with notable Israeli human and civil rights experts, religious leaders, Israeli, and Arab-Israeli and Palestinian leaders across the social and political spectrum. Participants also visited a number of projects unique to their focus on co-existence and interfaith relations. The importance of such a delegation provided a fertile platform for discussion, leadership development, and exchange of ideas across religious, journalistic, and political lines.