Archbishop Elias Chacour was just 8 years old when his family and neighbors were forcibly evicted from their Palestinian neighborhood by Jewish armed forces.
While the incident ignited anger in many Arabs, Chacour instead immersed himself in the non-violent teachings embedded in traditional Arab Christianity.
He has since dedicated his life to Arab-Israeli reconciliation.
In 1989, Chacour received an honorary degree from St Michael’s College.
He returns to the campus tonight to speak on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
He spoke with VPR’s Neal Charnoff by phone from Haifa about coming to the philosophy of non-violence?
Note: Chacour will be speaking at St. Michael’s College in Colchester tonight at 7:30.