Tree of Peace unveiled at A.T. Still University
Posted: May 26, 2011Bronze sculpture symbolizes oral health as a “bridge to peace” nationwide
MESA, Ariz. – After a long journey to A.T. Still University’s (ATSU) Arizona campus, the ASDOH Tree of Peace was officially unveiled and dedicated Thursday, May 26.
The bronze sculpture commissioned by French artist Hedva Ser is the first Tree of Peace to be installed in the United States. Funded by supporters of ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH), the Tree symbolizes oral health as a “bridge to peace” globally. The original, located at the Hebrew University School of Dental Medicine, symbolizes the peaceful, pioneering partnership between Israeli and Palestinian dental students at Hebrew University and Al-Quds University, both of which are located in Jerusalem, Israel.
Presenting at the ceremony were ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H., Dr. Adam Stabholz, dean of the Faculty of Dental Medicine at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Dr. Amid Ismail, dean of the Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University.
According to Dr. Stabholz, the Tree of Peace evolved from a journey started in 1997, when 1000 dentists from 13 countries convened in Jerusalem for an international conference entitled Bridge to Peace. This conference led to the establishment of the D. Walter Cohen Middle East Center for Dental Education, and it was on this Center’s 10th anniversary that the first Tree of Peace was unveiled in Jerusalem.
“The sight if Israeli and Palestinian students sitting together during lunch engaging in dialogue on common interests, exchanging ideas, and expressing their will to study and work together, was certainly a great achievement,” said Dr. Stabholz.
Both Dr. Stabholz and Dr. Ismail discussed the growing support for the vision of the Middle East Center for Dental Education worldwide. Referencing the group of dental schools from across the globe that are meeting later this summer to charter a new group dedicated to the cause of global peace through oral health, Dr. Stabholz stated, “Now is the time to start fulfilling this as a truly global initiative, guided by diverse perspectives.”
The ATSU-ASDOH Tree of Peace serves as a symbol of this growing global initiative. “We want to produce leaders in communities, and on the way teach them to be great doctors,” said Dr. Dillenberg. “Part of that is a global sense of peace and understanding that this tree represents. Every day when students walk by, this is reinforced.”