The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) was founded in March 1987 by Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi and by a group of Palestinian academics and intellectuals in Jerusalem. PASSIA is an Arab non-profit institution located in Jerusalem with a financially and legally independent status. PASSIA seeks to present the question of Palestinian national determination in its Palestinian-national, Arab and international contexts through academic research, dialogue and publication. (source)

PASSIA believes that:

• Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities in the region have enormous potential to either encourage peaceful coexistence or support sectarian hatred
• Religious dialogue can help in building bridges and dispelling existing stereotypes
• The three monotheistic faiths have bases of unity among them and others may be discovered in the course of such a dialogue.

See also: Palestinian homeland, PASSIA homepage