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Revision as of 02:24, 4 April 2003 by RK (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)This page discusses the many projects that work to create a peaceful and productive co-existence between Israelis and Arabs.
Israeli-Arab co-existence projects
Neve Shalom Humanitarian Aid Project
The Israeli Jewish-Arab Village of Neve Shalom-Wahat al Salam provides a remarkable model of coexistence. They organize humanitarian projects, including providing medical assistance for Palestinians in need of help.
Hamidrasha Jewish-Arab Beit Midrash
Hamidrasha, a center for study and fellowship, works to address alienation, estrangement, and mutual ignorance between Jews and Arabs. Hamidrasha is establishing an inter-cultural Beit Midrash (Hebrew, "House of study"), which will serve as a basis for mutual personal and communal encounters, and for the study of cultural narratives and modern texts of both peoples. Jewish, Muslim and Christian men and women will engage in a true inter-cultural learning experience, with the goal of making a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue between Jews and Arabs, and strengthening their reciprocal ties.
Ir Shalem co-existence program
In many ways the city of Jerusalem has been at the center of the conflict. The Israeli political movement Peace Now in ] has created an initiative called Ir Shalem, the goal of which is to build a peaceful equitable and inspiring future for this city, with Jewish and Arab citizens working together to find solutions based on equity and justice. This program brings together volunteer architects, planners, lawyers and other professionals to analyze problems, and offer solutions. Among other efforst, Ir Shalem is developing the first-ever planning model for East Jerusalem that will equitably meet the needs of the Palestinian community.
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace was founded in 1993 by John Wallach after the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. He created the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield, Maine, USA, and brought togther several dozen Israelis, Palestinian and Egyptian teens. The goal of his organization was to create a new generation of leadership in the middle-east, one in which both Arabs and Israelies would no longer accept outdated and harmful sterotypes about each other; this would occur by bringing together people to literally put a human face on those who were previously perceived as an enemy. Since that time Arab children from Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia have joined. Seeds of Peace camps now operate programs in the Middle East as well. Seeds of Peace has also branched out into bringing teenagers together to help solve the Balkans conflict, the Greek and Turkish dispute over Cyprus, and the Indian-Pakistani dispute.
Jewish-Muslim dialogue
The American Jewish Committee
While forcefully speaking out against Islamic anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli rhetoric, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) has worked since 1985 to enhancing relations between Jews and Muslims. The AJC encourages and engages in dialogue on many levels with like-minded groups committed to fostering tolerance and cooperation.
Their website states that "The American Jewish Committee has demonstrated a profound commitment to enhancing relations between Jews and Muslims, a vital part of its fundamental dedication to the promotion of interreligious understanding in the United States and around the world. Rejecting the inevitability of a "clash of civilizations," AJC has instead insisted on the possibility of a "community of civilizations" by encouraging dialogue on the highest levels with like-minded groups committed to fostering tolerance and cooperation. In so doing, we have achieved a number of breakthroughs in this vital arena. For well over a decade, AJC has dedicated itself to forging significant relationships with Arab and Muslim leaders around the world. AJC has traveled extensively in the Muslim world - from Morocco to Mauritania, through the Middle East and the Gulf states, to Indonesia. We have met with scores of Muslim leaders, including top officials of Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia, Bosnia, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to discuss topics ranging from relations with Israel and the United States to the promotion of international Muslim-Jewish dialogue."
In 1986 the AJC publicly condemed the murder by bomb attack of Alex Odeh (in Oct. 1985), a member of Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Santa Ana. The AJC had a meeting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation director William Webster about this incident; they urged action to identify and punish those responsible for anti-Arab bigotry. In 1986 the AJC submitted testimony to the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, on the topic of violence and discrimination towards Arab-Americans.
In 1991, on the brink of the Allied war against Iraq, the AJC issues a statement warning the public not to engage in discrimination towards American Arabs or Muslims. In part, they states "We are ever mindful of what happened to Japanese-Americans as a result of war hysteria shortly after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Some 120,000 Japanese-Americans, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, were evacuated and incarcerated in internment camps…without any evidence whatsoever that they were a threat to U.S. security. This must not happen again." (AJC statement by executive director David Harris)
From 1992 to 1995 the AJC worked to lobby the United States government to intervene on behalf on Muslims in Bosnia.
In 1993 the AJC sponsored the first national conference on "Muslims and Jews in North America: Past, Present and Future" with the Institute for Islamic-Judaic Studies at the University of Denver in October. In 1994 they sponsored the second such conference. The third conference had to be cancelled, when the AJC could not found Muslim parters who were willing to publicly condemn the current wave of terrorist attacks on Israel.
In 1999 the AJC helped aid Muslims in Kosovo.
In 2001 the AJC initiated a new project designed to advance understanding between Muslims and Jews by publishing two books: Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Judaism for Muslims, by Professor Reuven Firestone, a scholar of Islam at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles, was written to describe Judaism to Muslims; Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews, by professor Khalid Duran, was written to describe Judaism for Muslims.
American Muslim leaders
Feisal Abdul Rauf, imam of Masjid al-Farah in New York City and founder of the American Sufi Muslim Association (ASMA) Society.
Khalid Abou El Fadl, UCLA law professor, works with Jewish and Christian groups to promote inter-faith cooperation and dialogue.
See also: Religious pluralism, Peace process
External links
American Jewish Congress Seeking to advance Jewish-Muslim relations
PBS interview with Feisal Abdul Rauf
A Call to bridge the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, by Feisal Abdul Rauf