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Since the executive committee and its successor, the coordinating committee, served as the overall policy and administrative unit for the MAO, the files in this series contain materials documenting--and often explaining--the overall functioning and policy development of the MAO. The minutes, extending from 1979 to 1988, document policy and management issues and decisions and are an important beginning to understanding the mission and work of the MAO. Minutes after 1988 were not maintained separately and thus are scattered throughout other record series.

The Peace Education Committee series consists of two chronological subseries and three subseries of records maintained by PEC coordinators and secretaries. The great value of this series is its documentation of the issues of the time and the response of the MAO to these issues. Of special interest is the PEC's Middle East Peace Education program. The PEC was especially active in educating about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and seeking peaceful resolution to tensions arising from that situation. Included is a near-complete run of the newsletter, "Middle East Peace Notes," that runs from 1976 to 1987. The PEC also sponsored and arranged extensive lectures, conferences, and seminars regarding Middle Eastern issues. Speakers who participated in the lecture series included Jim Fine, Everett Mendelssohn, Mattityahu Peled, and Loren Tesdell. The subseries maintained by Coordinator/Peace Education Secretaries, Joe Volk, (1977-1982) Richard Cleaver (1982-1992), and Area Coordinator Jan Wright (1992-2002) also contain additional information about Peace in the Middle East and Militarism and Non-violence. One issue that came to the fore in the 1990s concerned protection of the rights of lesbian/gay/bisexual citizens. A significant portion of Jan Wright subseries relates to workshops and conferences on this topic sponsored by the organization.