_Dr. ANDREW M. WILSON is the author of World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts (Paragon House, 1991), a comparative anthology that contains over 4,000 passages from 268 sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Baha’i, and more. Also featured are the traditions, prayers and proverbs of the First Peoples of Africa, the Americas and Oceania. Clergy, scholars, and practitioners of multiple faith traditions have applauded it as a contribution to comparative religion and a resource for interfaith worship. The online version of World Scripture is linked to by many collegiate and independent websites as a comparative religion resource. Dr. Wilson has a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and has published on Jewish–Christian relations in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies. His interest in Israeli–Palestinian relations has led him to take more than a dozen trips to Israel, Ramallah and Gaza.

Dr. Wilson is Professor of Scriptural Studies at UTS: The Interfaith Seminary (New York City), the main seminary of the international Unification Church. Nevertheless, in undertaking the work to develop the proposal for a border, he received neither church support nor the endorsement of any church officials. He states, “I am offering this proposal as an individual citizen who cares deeply about peace in a way that transcends my personal religious beliefs. I believe that the spiritual maturity that grows out of a life of faith has positioned me to make a contribution to the wider discussion.” 
 

LOUISE B. STRAIT accompanied Dr. Wilson on several of his trips to Israel and the Palestinian territories. An elder in the Presbyterian Church (P.C.U.S.A.), she is active in interfaith activities in the Washington D.C. area. Her interest in peace has been fostered by the strong peace witness of the Society of Friends, which she encountered in her education at the Quaker-affiliated Sidwell Friends School and Earlham College. An editor of periodicals by profession, Ms. Strait is currently employed by the American Psychological Association.
 

Dr. ANTONIO L. BETANCOURT is the Director for the Office of Peace and Security Affairs for the Universal Peace Federation. He also serves as President of the World Institute for Development and Peace, a think tank devoted to economic justice and resource developer on ideas and technologies to address more effectively the problems of poverty. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President of the International Security Council, a Washington, DC-based defense and foreign policy think tank, and was Executive Editor of Global Affairs, its quarterly journal.

_WE GIVE SPECIAL THANKS to Rev. Christopher Krefft, whose spiritual guidance was instrumental in the inception of this project and whose valued advice assisted its development at every stage. Reverend Krefft is an active member of the Wellington, New Zealand, Inter-Faith Council. 

We wish to acknowledge the support and contributions of Ye Jin Moon, Daniela Wetherall, Malcolm Allan and Jim Scorgie, who met with the authors in Honolulu, Hawaii in April 2011, where we began a journey together that led to this proposal. We thank Roger Wetherall for producing a first-rate website. We thank Mr. Scorgie for his generous support. We are also grateful to Glenn Strait and William Selig for their logistical support, to Tarek Nahabet and Dr. Mark Barry for their editorial comments and advice about working in the Washington political culture, and to our friends in Israel—Eliezer, Shelley, Eldad, Hod and Shuki—for their warm hospitality and encouragement. No doubt we will have many more people to thank as we continue to share this proposal with others and gather their insights from diverse points of view.

For more information please contact the authors: andrew.m.wilson.phd@gmail.com