Haifa is Israel's third largest city. First and foremost a port city for international commerce, it has in recent decades become a major center for Israel's high-tech industry. Built on Mount Carmel, Haifa is a collection of diverse, picturesque, and easily accessible neighborhoods from the port area in the lower city, to the commercial Hadar area in the middle tier, and the beautiful residential areas on the upper ridge.
Due to its special history and location, Israel is a unique place to study conflicts and their sources as well as diverse and intriguing methods and strategies to manage and resolve them. This is particulary true for the city of Haifa. With a pluralistic, ethnically and religiously diverse population, Haifa provides the perfect backdrop for students from around the globe to come together to learn about conflict and peacemaking.
Two of the most distinguishing features of Haifa are the physical beauty of the city and the coexistence of its ethnically diverse communities who live and work together. Home to the Carmel National Forest and miles of developed and natural beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, Haifa provides a wonderful environment for almost any kind of recreational activity. Haifa is the world center of the Baha'i Faith. Its shrine, administrative center, and world-renowned gardens are prominent features of the city’s landscape. The Christian and Muslim communities of Haifa, and the neighboring Druze villages of Usifiya and Daliat- el-Carmel, are important components of the city's social and cultural development. Along with Jewish communities from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, North and South America, Ethiopia, and India, they have combined to create a modern Mediterranean city that is truly special.
