More people die of hatred than other cause

SPOKANE, Wash., April 5 (UPI) -- More people have died because of human hatred than from any other human cause, a U.S. professor says.

"Yet we still do not know enough about how hatred works and how to prevent and combat it," John Shuford, director of the Gonzaga University Institute for Hate Studies, in Spokane, Wash., said in a statement.

The Gonzaga University Institute for Hate Studies is hosting the Second International Conference on Hate Studies Wednesday through Saturday in Spokane.

The conference purpose is to foster better understanding of the nature of hatred, develop more effective models and approaches for combating it and consider the implications for practice across many fields, Shuford said.

"A key goal for us is to shape an academic curriculum on hate studies," Shuford said.

The conference features academics, a representative of the U.S. State Department, international experts on hate crimes, journalists, law enforcement personnel, educators, human rights experts, representatives of non-governmental organizations, community leaders and clergy.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated author of "I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity." The Palestinian physician lost three daughters when Israeli tanks twice shelled his home, but his message of non-violence and hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians endures.