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Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue (SAMED) Records

An inventory of its records at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: Calvin Silver
Date: 23 Sep 2025

Biographical History

The Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue (SAMED) Group is a group of Arab. Palestinian, Jewish, and other concerned Americans that engage in conversation and promote amd advocate for a peaceful resolution to conflict in the Middle East. SAMED first came together in 1981, aiming to connect a divide between the Palestinian and Jewish communities in Syracuse. The group has limited membership to ensure balanced representation of the concerned communities. Meetings, which rotate between the homes of members, include administrative discussions, such as planning and scheduling meetings with congressional candidates and current legislators, as well as frank conversations about current events in the Middle East, and strategies for getting a concise and collaborative message out to members of the communities most impacted.

SAMED has issued several public statements about conflict in the Middle East, only publishing them when an overwhelming majority of the membershipagrees to do so. Their statements most often call upon individuals and governments to support peace efforts in the Middle East. To achieve this aim, SAMED has maintained an unwavering position of non-violent action and diplomatic negotiations.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue (SAMED) Records span the years 1980-2021 and are divided into four categories: Administrative records, Correspondence subject files, Printed material, and Public statements.

Administrative records include by-laws, meeting minutes, and extensive internal correspondence. The internal correspondence primarily pertains to meeting planning and discussion of current events in between meetings.

Correspondence subject files contains correspondence between SAMED members and outside individuals and organizations, primarily with American political figures. The series also includes writings by individual SAMED members outside of official SAMED work.

Printed material comprises clippings of items written by individual SAMED members, often in conjunction with public statements, as well as clippings about SAMED's work and mission. Also included are miscellaneous articles which pertain to the history, politics, and public opinion of Israel and Palestine, particularly in reference to conflicts and peace treaties.

Public statements consists of statements that have been issued by SAMED as a whole regarding politics in the Middle East, particularly regarding Israel and Palestine. Statements include responses to United States diplomacy and political involvement in the Middle East, Israel-Palestine peace actions, and declarations of SAMED's beliefs and mission.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence-subject files are arranged alphabetically by name of individual or organization. All other series are arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material. Within the Administrative records series, internal correspondence, meeting minutes, and clippings are arranged chronologically; all other subseries are in no particular order.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

See also: the Louis Kriesberg Papers. Louis Kriesberg was a Syracuse University professor from 1967-1997 and is one of the founding members of SAMED.

Subject Headings

Persons

Kriesberg, Louis.
Schwartz, Richard D., 1925-2017.

Corporate Bodies

American Committee for Middle East Dialogue.
Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue.
U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East.

Subjects

Activism -- Religious aspects.
Dialogue -- Religious aspects.
Jewish-Arab relations.
Peace -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Peace--Religious aspects -- Islam.
Peace--Religious aspects -- Judaism.

Places

Israel -- Foreign public opinion, American.
Israel -- History.
Israel -- Politics and government.
Palestine -- History.
Palestine -- Politics and government.
Syracuse (N.Y.) -- Ethnic relations.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts).
Conference proceedings.
Correspondence.
Minutes (administrative records).

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue Records (SAMED),
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue and Louis Kriesberg, 2025.

Table of Contents

Administrative

Correspondence subject files

Printed material

Public statements

Inventory