On Monday-Thursday, March 10th-13th, Geneva Initiative Foreign Relations Manager Michal Radoshitzky attended the Fourth Annual Forum of the Alliance for Middle East Peace in Washington DC.

The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) is a coalition of 55 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that promote people-to-people coexistence, reconciliation, and cooperation between Arabs and Jews, Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Through ALLMEP, Americans from diverse religious, ethnic, and political backgrounds join together in support of efforts to build lasting peace in the region.

The forum brought together alliance members with representatives of Israeli and Palestinian organizations, connecting these organizations with U.S. organizations for possible future cooperations.

The nearly week-long conference involved strategy meetings and capacity building sessions, as well as outreach events to private sector foundations in Baltimore, New York, and Washington, DC. NGO leaders held more than 40 meetings with congressional offices, the State Department, Middle East policy groups, and embassies to promote greater support for NGO projects. The highlight of the week was ALLMEP's 2008 Peacebuliders Reception on Capitol Hill, featuring a hilarious performance by the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour before a room full of dignitaries, policymakers, and NGO leaders.