Meeting with Israeli and Arab leaders at a time of apparent stalemate in the region, an administrator at Monmouth University nonetheless emerged convinced that all sides would like to move toward compromise.

Prof. Saliba Sarsar, associate vice president for academic program initiatives at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, recently returned from an eight-day trip to Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories.

As a member of a 10-person delegation from the American Task Force on Palestine, Sarsar met with some of the region’s top political leaders, including Tzipi Livni, Israel’s minister of foreign affairs; Jordan’s King Abdullah II; and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

“All of them realize that there is an extreme urgency regarding the time factor,” Sarsar said this week. “And because they all were receptive to the idea of Palestinians living in peace and security alongside Israelis, we felt this trip was a success. These are leaders who seem to want to keep a positive momentum going.”

At the same time, Sarsar, born to a Russian father and Greek mother in the Old City of Jerusalem and a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, said familiar sticking points remain, including the “right of return” for Palestinians who formerly lived in what is now Israel and Israel’s demand for security guarantees.

Sarsar joined a delegation drawn from the 30 educators, medical and legal experts, and Fortune 500 officials who belong to the nonpartisan, not-for-profit ATFP corporation, which was founded in 2003.

Committed to Palestinian statehood and often critical of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, the ATFP fully recognizes Israel and condemns violence directed against civilians.

The delegation met with Livni, several of her top advisers, and officials of the Israeli foreign ministry in Tel Aviv.

“Livni is very impressive — she is straightforward and she speaks her mind in a very pragmatic fashion,” said Sarsar. “She told us she believes a Palestinian state is in the best interests of Israel and that she feels there are many common interests within these two regions.”

Although Livni expressed her belief in the two-state solution, she emphatically stated that Israel should not be held responsible for the Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel in the wake of the War of Independence. The ATFP supports a formula that recognizes refugees’ rights but which “does not contradict the basis of a two-state solution and an end to the conflict” — in essence leaving the door open for compensating Arabs for their former properties.

“Livni believes she is on the extreme Right regarding the refugee issue,” Sarsar said. “And she said the overall issue of security must be considered with extreme care. She is a lawyer by profession, and it was clear that she was capable of analyzing the different sides of a situation in a quick and thorough manner.”

And although Livni told the delegates that she was aware of the many restrictions on the issuance of travel visas to Palestinian-Americans and Arab-Americans who wish to visit the West Bank, she added that she would require a series of updates on the visa situation before further discussion on the issue could take place.

“As a delegation, we respected that,” said Sarsar. “She did not pretend that she had all of the information at her disposal; when she said she needed more facts, it indicated to us that she was sincere in her intention to thoroughly examine a subject that was presented for her consideration.”

The ATFP delegation met with Abbas in Ramallah and with King Abdullah at a royal residence in Jordan.

Sarsar described them, as well as Livni, as “careful listeners” who believe that Palestinian and Israeli conflicts must be resolved before hostilities have another chance to escalate in the Middle East.

In the period after their meetings, Abbas proposed talks with Israel on some of the thorniest issues dividing them, including the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were to meet last week as part of efforts to restart Mideast peace talks. Abbas spoke in favor of the two-state solution to a Palestinian television and radio audience, and King Abdullah discussed the concept with Israeli government officials.

Sarsar also said that Livni met with members of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry after the delegates went home.

“It seemed that every day brought another movement toward a peaceful solution,” said Sarsar. “I hope those we met with continue to capitalize on this and are not distracted. If they become distracted by violence, it will postpone a process that is searching for peace.”

Sarsar’s diverse background helped form his desire to work for peace in the Middle East. Born in the Old City of Jerusalem when it was still controlled by Jordan, he was raised in an Arab culture and spoke Arabic, although he has no Arab blood. He observed the spread of hostilities generated by the Six-Day War in 1967 and the ensuing creation of new Israeli borders.

In 1974, Sarsar was part of a program that sent several Middle Eastern students to New Jersey in an effort to promote peace and understanding between different cultures. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science and interdisciplinary history from Monmouth University (then known as Monmouth College) in 1978; in 1984, he received a doctorate in political science, with an emphasis on international relations and Middle Eastern affairs, from Rutgers University.

Sarsar joined the staff at Monmouth University 21 years ago and became an American citizen in 2000.

Before the ATFP group left Tel Aviv last month, Livni told the delegates that the future must not be turned over to those who would hijack peace for their own purposes.

“She said extremists should not dictate policy,” Sarsar said. “In this way, the environment of violence and war can be transformed into a future of hope.”