Education Israel Project #1521

Community Building for 1000 Jews & Muslims 2023-25

by Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA)

Community Building for 1000 Jews & Muslims 2023-25

Project Report | Jul 5, 2022
Jaffa Interfaith Encounter group - 3 encounters

By Dr. Yehdua Stolov | Executive Director

January 25, 2022

The start of the Encounter didn't look promising as only 3 members had attended. Yet while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive, an amazing conversation naturally developed that jumped from topic to topic without pause until I had to leave after 2 hours of riveting conversation.

We spoke about the Seven Noahide Laws, the commandment to love and not to be judgmental, about Lot and Sodom, and the Levite's concubine and many other subjects.

March 1, 2022

Newcomers came to the encounter, so we started with an introductory round. The self-introductions were relatively in-depth and drew many follow-up questions that sparked small conversations on issues that came up as well as lots of laughs.

The newcomers then sought to familiarize themselves with the association better and this conversation expanded into sharing thoughts about the character of the group, especially in Jaffa.

By the time we were done with getting to know each other, there was no time left for the topic, so we moved it on to the next encounter.

April 5^th, 2022

When we scheduled the encounter, we did not take note that Ramadan was already beginning. Despite this, the Muslim members also supported to follow through with the scheduled time. Nevertheless, despite good intentions, various constraints caused most of the group participants to cancel. At the beginning of the encounter, only two members arrived on time. Fortunately, the conversations flowed excellently and were conducted in a warm and engaging atmosphere. There was a natural flow in the discussion, and by the time we ended our session two hours later, there were 10 members in the group.

We talked, among other things, about Kashrut, slander, supervision, and choice. We also spoke about publicizing our next encounter and discussed inviting additional participants. For the next encounter, we chose the theme of a house and home.

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Mar 9, 2022
Bar Ilan Interreligious Dialogue Course

By Dr. Yehdua Stolov | Executive Director

January 5

The students visited a mosque at Kfar Kassem. Because of the high infection rates at the moment, it was a hybrid event, with some students joining via Zoom. The visit was very meaningful for the students.

January 12

The final session of the course was held over Zoom due to the increase in Covid cases. We started with each student summarizing their impression of the course. Many responses were repeated and they were all enthusiastic. Here are some of them:

Diana: This is the first time I have talked to Jews about the religious tradition. No stereotypes, no judgment. I got answers to a lot of questions I had.

Samira: I learned a lot of new things about the other religions, things I knew in general but not in detail. I also learned new things about my religion.

Nadav: What I particularly liked was that the students themselves presented the topics from their religious angle, and no "experts" were brought in for that purpose. We became real friends and I think without this course I would not have had a chance to develop friendships with Muslims or Christians.

Mutaz: I was amazed at how easy it was for us to communicate with each other and understand each other. People I told about what was going on here were also surprised by the ease with which we were able to discuss such weighty issues.

Pauline: The course was amazing - I had been waiting for it all week. There is also a problem with this: I do not think I will ever enjoy such a course ...

Erin: The course revealed that with all the differences between us we are all human beings with a heart.

Rowan: Never before have I had the opportunity to have a real conversation with Jews. And in no other course have I had the opportunity to express myself so much.

Shira: People usually connect with people who are similar to them and here I learned how important it is to connect with people who are different.

Jack: This is a life-changing course. We are so used to seeing the negative in the other and here we had the opportunity to meet others in a positive way and even become their friends. I think every person should go through such an experience.

Dan: Usually (outside the course) if there are encounters, then we talk about politics. Here, when we talked about religion and not politics, the conversation was much deeper.

In the second part, Yehuda presented options to take the experience further - to form a group or join an existing group in the area where you live or join the group of graduates at the university. Many of the students were enthusiastic about the alumni group and even wanted to form a special alumni group for this group. It was agreed that we would try this option.

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Nov 22, 2021
NEW group and concept: Interfaith Storytelling

By Dr. Yehdua Stolov | Executive Director

October 24, 2021

We met to establish the group at the Beit Hakerem community center, with 23 participants, led by Omer. This is the first time we are establishing such a group in the Association and we allow ourselves to try different directions.

We started with Omar playing the Santoor and Muhammad, the Oud. We spent most of the evening of the first encounter getting to know the members of the group, using different methods in which the participants told about themselves.

During the process it became clear to us that due to the language gaps it would not be possible to have a classic storytelling process and we decided to try a slightly different model. Each session opens with some useful proverbs or sentences in Hebrew and Arabic. Afterwards we enjoy some music and most of the session will be dedicated to four personal stories - two in Hebrew and two in Arabic - of the participants, with their translation into both languages.

November 14, 2021

We met for a second encounter of a group of storytellers at the American Center. After hearing greetings from our hosts at the center, Omer and Muhammad did some warming up for a session with music.

Afterwards, participants shared personal stories. Rafat told about his work in picking olives, Jews and Muslims together. Meir made everyone laugh when he told a story from his childhood in Jerusalem in the 1950s. Muhammad and Ibrahim also told about their experiences from school, and Tzipi shared a story about her relationship with her grandmother, who would always say that "when luck knocks, you have to open the door." Omer concluded the meeting with another story of his own, and we agreed that we would be happy to continue to develop the art of storytelling together.

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