William Ury, one of the most revered mediators in the world today, has stepped squarely into the cauldron of conflict known as the Middle East to create a powerful new approach for world peace and personal peace. The focus of today’s program is the Abraham Path, Ury’s initiative that seeks to connect the human family step by step by creating a permanent route of cross cultural tourism and pilgrimage that traces the footsteps of Abraham, the unifying figure of many faiths and people. 

Walking the path that Abraham walked 4,000 years ago is geared to keep reminding us of the spirit of Abraham, the symbol of respect. As the path winds through many ancient and historic cities in countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Syria, it helps us remember that we are all interconnected in one human family and that our differences are only skin deep. 

This era is the first time that all of humanity is in touch and might be called the human family reunion. Of course, similar to many family reunions that are not immediately peaceful, we must learn how to deal with our differences as we come together and appreciate that we are in fact one family. That doesn’t mean that we erase the differences, but it gives us a context that unites and teaches us that our similarities are far, far greater than what separates us.

William L. Ury co-founded Harvard's Program on Negotiation and is currently a Senior Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He is the author of many best-selling books and co-author of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, that has sold eight million copies and been translated into over thirty languages. 

Over the last 30 years, Ury has served as a negotiation adviser and mediator in conflicts ranging from corporate mergers to wildcat strikes in a Kentucky coal mine to ethnic wars in the Middle East, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union. With former President Jimmy Carter, he co-founded the International Negotiation Network, a non-governmental body seeking to end civil wars around the world.