Samuel (Muli) Peleg

Dr. Samuel (Muli) Peleg is the Director of the International School at Oranim College and a Member of the Board of Directors of Hillel Israel, for the advancement of Jewish Peoplehood among Israeli students. He is a political sociologist trained in the fields of comparative politics and international relations. His areas of expertise are peace-building & reconciliation, social sustainability, justice & human rights, and conflict resolution. His research focuses on intercultural and interfaith dialogue in deeply divided communities. Dr. Peleg participated in various ongoing workshops and training sessions at the UN as well developing relations with leading universities in Japan, Germany, France and Israel/Palestine, where he regularly sent his students for internships and research.

Dr. Peleg taught at the Peace and Justice Studies Program of Fordham University and at the Rutgers University Business School. Between 2010-2013 he was a visiting faculty member at the negotiation and conflict resolution program (NECR) at Columbia University. He is the author of several books and articles, among them are Spreading the Wrath of God: From Gush Emunim to Rabin Square (1997, Hebrew), Zealotry and Vengeance- quest of Religious Identity Group (2002, Lexington Books); If Words Could Kill: the Failure of Public Discourse in Israel (2003, Hebrew University Press), Fighting Terrorism in the Liberal State (2006, IOS Press) and Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue for Peace (IGI Press 2019).

Dr. Peleg has an extensive practical experience as a negotiator and peace-maker in addition to his academic career. His main focus is on intercultural and interfaith dialogue in deeply-divided societies. In this capacity, Dr. Peleg led a team of experts in a Columbia University funded project in the town of Ramla (2011-2013), which brought together Jewish and Arab community leaders in an effort to establish a shared identity. Similar projects were pursued by Dr. Peleg and his team in Cypress, Tanzania and the Basque Country. In 2005, Dr. Peleg was invited as one of the Academia experts who participated in the Club de Madrid founding gathering. In 2003, Dr. Peleg was a founding member of One Voice, an organization which promotes reconciliation between the various factions of the Israeli society as well as between Israelis and Palestinians.

 Dr. Peleg served as a top advisor on leadership and negotiations to the Peres Center for Peace. In this capacity he had taken part in several rounds of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians as well as Israelis and Jordanians. He has also counseled the Prime Minister’s office, the Foreign Office and the National Security Council. 

In the US, Dr. Peleg has worked with the Martin Luther King Foundation and their social initiative branch--Realizing the Dream on social justice projects. He is involved with intercultural and interfaith dialogue initiatives in the Middle East and Africa with the Counter Extremism Project.

Lastly, Muli writes poetry. He published three award winning poetry books, all in Hebrew, the last one came out this January. He has a wife, Tzofnat, and two daughters Efrat and Ad-El.

http://en.oranim.ac.il/international-school/about/staff-international/