IEA's "Circle of Light and Hope" Israeli-Palestinian group met for the 4^th time on November 1^st. This group is run in cooperation with the Palestinian Peace Society of Hebron.

 

The theme of the encounter was "Charity". After each of us introduced himself or herself we each shared our knowledge and reflections on the theme. Here are some of the inputs:

 

Nidal: Charity has to be given confidentially. If someone does it for boasting, it looses its value. God blesses the charity giver. Charity drives out the evil that penetrates the heart.

 

Abd-el-Halim: In Islam there is a difference between charity – that comes out of the voluntary will of the heart and has to be confidential; and Zakat – which is a duty as one of the five pillars of Islam and does not need to be secret. The latter is given once a year at a given rate of 2.5% of one's property.

 

Abd-el-Hadi: More important than the material meaning of charity – is the spiritual meaning of giving, which strengthens the "togetherness" of the society.

 

Taleb: Prophet Mohammad said that indeed the upper (=giving) hand is better than the lower (=receiving) hand, but both are commendable.

 

Yael: The Hebrew word "Ts'daka" is similar to the Arabic word. The recommended rate is 10%-20% of one's income but there is no obligation to give a certain amount. There are additional laws regarding giving from agricultural crops: stalks or sheaves of wheat that have fallen to the ground during the gathering of the harvest and which are left for the poor and the corner of a field, vineyard or orchard left un-harvested for the poor to come and take.

It is also said that giving charity saves from death.

 

Bob: there is similarity between Judaism and Islam: in both of them it is a religious duty that is not dependent on my feelings but on the needs of the poor (even if I don't like him – I still have to give him). Private property is allowed and should be respected but ultimately: the land and all in it belongs to God and we only take care of the part of it which was given to us.

 

Adir: Our Sages say in the Chapters of the Fathers that charity is one of the three pillars on which the world stands. The Baal Shem Tov (founder of the Hassidic movement) said: we are commanded to follow God but how can we follow God? – by behaving in the way God's behavior is described, which includes giving charity.

Also: there are priorities in giving. For example: the poor of one's city have priority over poor of another city.

 

Yehuda: The Talmud tells us a story that indicates the advantage of giving food, which can be consumed immediately, over giving money. 

Also: Maimonides lists 8 levels of giving charity.

 

Reported: Yehuda Stolov

 

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On Sunday, Dec. 6^th at 5 PM we had the regular monthly meeting of the Light and Hope Circle. We met this time at the Everest Hotel near Har Gilo/Beit Jalla. For this encounter we had planned to discuss the topic of Marriage in the Three Faiths, however, since no Christians were able to attend and it was felt by all that it would be extremely important to have Christian teachings represented, it was mutually agreed upon to postpone discussion of that topic until the next meeting, and to make a special effort to have at least one Christian be there who would be able to present the Christian view, or views. As a substitute topic, and since Bob had just given Taleb a fossil as a gift, it was suggested that we instead discuss issues such as the age of the earth, evolution, and whether or not it is permissible in each faith to interpret the creation stories non-literally. On the Jewish side, and with reference to the story of creation in the Book of Genesis, it was pointed out that while some Jews do in fact interpret the verses literally and consider the world to be exactly 5770 years old, there is no requirement in Judaism to interpret the verses literally, and many great figures, such as Rav Kuk, have not only considered it to be permissible to believe in evolution but have argued that the doctrine of evolution actually fits very well with the Biblical account. Also, since in Genesis the sun itself is not created until the fourth day, there is room to assume that the first 3 days may not have been 24-hour days as we know them, and may in fact have been much longer (as per the great Jewish exegete Ibn Ezra.) 

 

Several of the Moslems present pointed out that Islam does not have a set teaching about the age of the earth, and while the Koran as well describes the initial creation as having taken place in six days, there are other places where it says that the length of time of a “day” in God’s reckoning of time. For these reasons it was agreed by all that Taleb’s new fossil was indeed from the Cretaceous period as he claimed, which ranged from 145 million years ago to 65 million years ago. After contemplating these vast spans of time, we all agreed that while we were eagerly looking forward to the next encounter, four and a half weeks really isn’t such a long time to wait.  Our next meeting will take place on January 10^th at 5 PM in Gush Etzion junction.

 

Reported: Bob Carroll

 

Group's coordinators: Bob Carroll & Taleb Alharrithy

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

 

(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

On Tuesday, October 27^th, between 5:30 and 9pm, we had at my home a really successful and astounding women's interfaith encounter. This time we also had small children coming with their mothers, playing, eating and playing the organ.

The atmosphere between the women was very pleasant, as they know each other more and more and are very happy to meet and talk together on many themes. A central theme of the conversation was children and education. Every one talked about both the challenges and the pleasure in seeing the children grow from day to day.

Randa Zrik-Sabag facilitated this encounter but not before she served the festive dinner she prepared for the women and their children. In the third part of the evening we had a surprise birthday for one of the Jewish women who turned 45. We all sang and ate cake with herbal tea – healthy and tasty.

It was really fun!

Reported: Randa Zrik-Sabag

 

ביום שלישי 27/10/09 בין השעות 5:30-900 בערב היה אצלי מפגש נשים בין דתי מוצלח ומהמם באמת. הפעם הגיעו גם ילדים קטנים עם האמהות שלהם, שחקו אכלו ונגנו באורגן.

 

היתה אווירה מאוד נעימה בין הנשים שכבר מכירות אחת את השנייה יותר ויותר ומאוד שמחות להיפגש ולדבר סביב כל מיני נושאים ביחד. עניין הילדים והחינוך היה הנושא המרכזי שהנשים התווכחו ודברו ביניהן עליו במפגש הזה. כל אחת סיפרה על הקשיים שלה וגם על התענוג בלראות הילדים גדלים ובוגרים מיום ליום.

 

רנדה זריק-סבאג הנחתה המפגש הזה אבל לא לפני הגשת ארוחת הערב החגיגית שהיא הכינה לנשים וילדים.

בחלק ה-3 של המפגש עשינו הפתעת יום הולדת לאחת הנשים היהודיות שמלאו לה  45שנים. כולן שרו ואכלו עוגה עם תה צמחים בריא וטעים.

היה באמת כיף!

 

דיווחה : רנדה זריק

في تاريخ 27.10.09 بين الساعة الخامسة والنصف وحتى الساعة التاسعة مساءا التفت مجموعتنا في بيتي لقاء للسيدات حيث كان اللقاء ناجحا ورائعا أيضا ومن ناحية التنظيم في هذه المرة شارك معنا الأولاد الصغار مع الأمهات حيث لعبوا و أكلوا وعزفوا، كان الجو جميل جدا بين النساء اللواتي أصبحنا يعرفنا بعضهن البعض بشكل جيد وسعيدات بمثل هذه اللقاءات والاستمرارية والتحدث في مواضيع مختلفة موضوع الأولاد والتربية كان موضوعنا الأساسي هذه المرة حيث دار الحوار والنقاش فيه وكيف تكمل السعادة برؤية الأولاد حين يكبرون وكل واحدة تحدثت عن المصاعب والمشاكل التي تواجهها كل يوم بيوم .

نظمت رندى زريق هذا اللقاء وطبعا ليس قبل ان تقدم وجبة العشاء اللذيذة التي كانت قد أعدتها للمجموعة وللاولاد. في القسم الاخير من اللقاء عملوا مفاجأة عيد ميلاد لاحدى الزميلات التي أصبح عمرها 45 سنة احتفلنا بعيدها بكعكة لذيذة وكاس شاي كان لقاء مدهش جداً.

 

تقرير : رندة زريق

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

Dear friends,

 

Please find below an update from the first two encounters this year of the Tel Aviv University Youth Interfaith Encounter group. This update sheds light also on the challenges we face on our way to a successfully active group.

 

I wish to take this opportunity and wish to all our Western Christian friends:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

 

Yours,

 

Yehuda

 

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Want to make a difference? This is the slogan that you can see at Tel Aviv University, inviting the students to join our Youth Interfaith Encounter.

It is not the first time that Interfaith Encounter Association offers to the students an opportunity to have an experience of coexistence at Tel Aviv University. With the great help from the Students Union Department, we got a room at Naftali Social Science College, which is an excellent place to our meetings. Everything is great, material, publishing and all the support from Students Union Department. 

Alright, but, where are our participants, the students? One week before the group started I had been there talking face to face with some students and giving them some flyers with information about the group. Many of them told me that it is a great idea to have a group like this at TAU. And I also talked to Arab students there.

The first Youth Interfaith Encounter at TAU for this year happened at 26th of November. There were two students, Dr. Yehuda and me. Dr. Yehuda started the meetings introducing the IEA projects. Then the participants talked about their ideas for this meeting. The meeting took one hour.

After changing the meetings to a new day (now on Sunday instead of Thursday), and with the help from the Students Union Department, once again new flyers and posters were circulating around TAU. For this meeting I invited a new Palestinian friend - Mustafa. And, for the second meeting, that happened last Sunday (Dec.20th), only me and Mustafa were there.

So, what to do? We will continue giving energy and effort to get our main participants, the students. We know how hard it is, to build a group and that it takes time and patience. We just want to believe deep inside that we want to make a difference. We just want to believe that we can make a different world, and keep on going.

Merry X-Mas and Happy New Year

Reported
Júlia Dojas

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

 

Assisting a Jewish-Arab kindergarten

A few months ago we thought that we wanted to have, as a group, another activity supporting Jewihs-Arab relations. In the beginning of the last year a kindergarten was founded in Kababir (where our Ahmedi group members live), for kids between the ages of 4 months and 4 years. It is a kindergarten for Jewish and Arab children, which follows the Anthroposophical principles.

A special activity was held in the kindergarten, together with the parents, in which an art teacher, who specializes in doll sewing in special style, led us in a workshop. Some of our group members participated twice in this activity and we sewed dolls, which we gladly gave to the kindergarten. We will continue to accompany these activities in order to contribute to the success of Jewish-Arab cooperation in Haifa.

 

Encounter of "OR" group – August 8^th, 2009

The encounter took place in the charming courtyard of one of our friends of Kababir. The yard belongs to the extended family, in its center there is water fountain in Syrian style, and facing the sea there is an elevated porch, where we set – talking and watching the sea during sunset. The whole yard is a flourishing garden, full of flowers, cactuses, flowerpots and more – all nurtured by our friend.

 

It was close the beginning of Ramadan and naturally we spoke about it. The Ahmedi women explained to us the need to get up at 4am to be able to pray and eat before sunrise. All day fasting and in the afternoon cooking, as every evening there is a big festive meal for all the extended family. They explained that in the first few days it is very difficult to fast, especially that even drinking water is forbidden and Ramadan is now in the hot summer time. Our Ahmedi friends relate high importance to the fast and also explained that there are vows that should be kept.

 

We learned that in Ramadan, with its fasting and praying, there are elements that remind us of the Jewish Yom Kippur, as both include atonement of sins and forgiveness.

 

As usual the encounter was also a most pleasant, delicious and enjoyable social gathering.

 

I wanted to share also about another Jewish-Arab kindergarten, which works in cooperation with the Kababir kindergarten about which we shared in the previous update (and also follows Anthroposophical principles). It is in the Beduin village Hilf, north of Tivon. It works for a number of years and has two age groups, for kids between the ages of two and seven. Each year two Holidays are selected, one Jewish and one Muslim, and are celebrated together with the parents. I was invited as a grandmother to an evening of festive dinner ending the fast in one of the Ramadan days. All parents and children were sitting in the yard, around tables with white tablecloths. One of the fathers started with the prayer that ends the fast and then we shared a delicious meal and sang songs in Hebrew and Arabic, accompanied by a guitar.

 

Reported: Rachel Epstein

 

סיוע לגן יהודי-ערבי

 

לפני מספר חודשים חשבנו כי אנחנו כקבוצה רוצות לעשות עוד פעילות תומכת בתחום הקשר בין יהודים וערבים.  בתחילת השנה הקודמת הוקם בכבביר  (שכונה בחיפה ומקום מגוריהם של החברות ה"אחמדיות" שבקבוצה שלנו) גן ילדים לגילאי 4 חודשים עד 4 שנים.  זהו גן לילדים יהודים וערבים, הפועל לאור העקרונות האנתרופוסופיים.  בגן נערכה פעילות עם הורים לתפירת בובות בסגנון מיוחד בהנחיית מורה לאומנות המתמחה בתחום.  חלק מבנות הקבוצה השתתפו בפעילות פעמיים ותפרנו בובות שנתנו בשמחה לגן המשותף. חברות הקבוצה תמשכנה ללוות פעילויות בגן כדי לתרום להצלחת שיתוף הפעולה יהודים-ערבים בחיפה.

 

פגישת קבוצת אור 8-8-09

הפגישה התקיימה בחצר קסומה של אחת מחברותינו מכבביר.  החצר היא של כל המשפחה המורחבת, באמצע החצר ניצבת מזרקה עם מים בסגנון סורי, ולכיוון הים מרפסת מוגבהת שבה ישבנו, שוחחנו וצפינו אל הים בשעת השקיעה.   כל החצר היא גן פורח, מלאת פרחים, קקטוסים, עציצים ועוד ועוד, הכל פרי עבודתה של חברתנו המאחרת.

 

הפגישה התקיימה סמוך לתחילת הראמאדן ובאופן טבעי נסבה שיחתנו על כך.  הנשים האחמדיות הסבירו לנו על הראמאדן, על הצורך לקום ב-4 לפנות בוקר כדי להספיק להתפלל ולאכול ממש לפני הזריחה.  כל היום צמים ולקראת ערב מבשלים, היות וכל ערב יש ארוחת חג גדולה לכל המשפחה הרחבה.  הן הסבירו לנו כי בימים הראשונים הצום מאד קשה, במיוחד שגם אסור לשתות אפילו מים, והראמאדן חל השנה בתקופת הקיץ החמה.  חברותינו האחמדיות מייחסות חשיבות רבה לצום וכן הסבירו לנו שבנוסף מדובר בנדרים שיש לקיימם.

התברר לנו כי בראמאדן, בצום ובתפילות קיימים אלמנטים המזכירים את יום כיפור של היהודים, בכך שמדובר גם על כפרת עוונות, סליחה ומחילה.

כרגיל היה מפגש חברתי נעים, טעים ומהנה.    

רציתי לספר לכם על גן יהודי-ערבי נוסף, הפועל בשיתוף עם הגן בכבביר, שסיפרנו עליו במכתב הקודם (גם הוא פועל לפי העקרונות האנתרופוסופיים).  הגן נמצא בכפר הבדווי חילף מצפון לטבעון.  הגן פועל כבר מספר שנים ויש בו שתי קבוצות גיל, לילדים מגיל שנתיים עד גיל שבע.  בגן בוחרים כל שנה שני חגים אחד יהודי ואחד מוסלמי ואותם חוגגים עם ההורים.  הוזמנתי כסבתא לערב בו נערכה הסעודה החגיגית של תום הצום באחד מימי הראמאדאן.  הוזמנו כל ההורים והילדים, ישבנו בחצר, סביב שולחנות עם מפות לבנות, תחילה אמר אחד האבות את התפילה של סיום הצום ולאחר מכן התכבדנו בארוחה חגיגית וטעימה, ושרנו שירים בעברית ובערבית בלווי גיטרה.  

 

דיווחה: רחל אפשטין    

 

قبل عدة شهور نحن كمجموعة فكرنا ان نقوم بعدة فعاليات تدعم العلاقة بين اليهود والعرب. في بداية العام الماضي في حي كبير في حيفا حيث يسكنن زميلاتنا الاحمديات فتحت روضة للاطفال من سن 4 شهور حتى 4 سنين وهذه الروضة مشتركة للاولاد العرب واليهود وتعمل من اجل المبادئ التجسيدية و تم في هذه الروضة فعاليات مع الاهل قاموا بصناعة الدمى المميزة بارشاد من معلم خاص في مجال الفنون و قسم من الزميلات شاركن مرتين في هذه النشاطات وقمن بصنع الدمى وتم تقديمها للروضة, ما زلن عضوات من المجموعة مستمرات بمتابعة النشاطات في الروضة والمشاركة بها من اجل انجاح الروضة المشتركة عرب ويهود في حيفا.

 

لقاء مجموعة النور 8.8.09

تم اللقاء في ساحة جذابة لدى احدى الصديقات من كبابير. ساحة واسعة خاصة بكل العائلة , في منتصف الساحة يوجد نافورة ماء على الطراز السوري حيث جلسنا في شرفة تطل على البحر وتكلمنا ونحن ننظر الى البحر في ساعات الغروب. هذه الساحة كانت مليئة بالازهار والورود والصبار والاشجار وغيره, زميلتنا المضيفة هي من قامت بالاهتمام بهذه الحديقة.

التقينا قبل شهر رمضان بعدة ايام وطبعا دار الحديث عن هذا الشهر الكريم حيث قام النساء الأحمديات بشرح وتوضيح موضوع  شهر الصيام وعن سبب النهوض المبكر في الساعة الرابعة صباحا حيث يستيقظ المسلمون مبكرا لتناول السحور واداء فريضة صلاة الفجر , واخبرونا بان الصيام في اول ايام رمضان كان صعبا وخاصة انه غير مسموح شرب الماء في خلال الصيام حيث ان شهر رمضان هذا العام ابتدا في ايام حارة  ولكن بعد ذلك اعتادوا  على ذلك  اوضحوا لنا اهمية الصيام وما فيه من اجر وثواب حيث تكثر العبادات ايضا في هذا الشهر, من خلال الشرح تبين لنا ان شهر رمضان هو شهر الرحمة والمغفرة لدى المسلمين وهو شبيه ليوم الغفران لدى اليهود حيث يطلب فيه المغفرة والمسامحة والعفو.

كالمعتاد اللقاء كان مدهش ومشوق.

اردت ان اخبركم عن روضة للاطفال اليهود والعرب هذه الروضة تعمل مع روضة في كبابير حيث اخبرناكم عنها في تقرير مسبق ( الذي يعمل من اجل اهداف انسانية ) هذه الروضة موجودة في قرية بدوية شمال"تبعون" , هذه الروضة تعمل منذ سنين تتألف من مجموعتين من الاعمار, اولاد من جيل سنتين حتى سبع سنوات. في كل عام يختاروا عيدين واحد للطائفة  اليهودية والأخر للمسلمين ويحتفلون بهما بمشاركة الأهالي كانوا قد دعوني لإحدى هذه الاحتفالات كجدة لحفيدي حيث عملوا افطار جماعي بمناسبة شهر رمضان الكريم كان إفطار لذيذ وطعام متنوع شارك فيه الأولاد والأهالي عرب ويهود جلسنا معا حول موائد  كانت مرتبة بشكل جميل عليها غطاء موائد ابيض اللون وطعام لذيذ وقبل بدء الإفطار قرأ احد الوالدين دعاء الإفطار ومن ثم بدأنا بتناول الإفطار وبعد الانتهاء قمنا بالنشيد معا باللغة العربية والعبرية برفقة القيثارة.

 

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

To all our Muslim friends we wish:

Happy New Year!!

 

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IEA's Reut-Sadaqa group in Jerusalem met again on October 19^th at the Swedish Theological Institute. The encounter was dedicated to sharing reflections from our joint visit to Yad Vashem and to planning the coming year of activity.

 

Here are a few examples from the sharing of our thoughts and feeling after our Yad Vashem visit:

Haya said the pictures were very difficult to watch and they created a lot of empathy. She said that she thinks every person has to visit there and that when we do – we should not only cry but learn the lesson: to remember and to improve our attitude towards 'the other'.

Henry said he visited Yad Vashem many times but this visit, together with Muslims, was very special. It had an important value as acknowledgment and it was moving to see good meeting points, such as the Bosnian family who save a Jewish family during the Holocaust and decades later was saved by the same family in the time of the civil war. We have to implement Psychology of Abundance in which my acknowledgment of the suffering of the other does diminish my own suffering.

Rafiqa said she was always afraid to enter Yad Vashem and the group gave her the strength she needed for the visit. The visit itself was very difficult and she could not eat after it. We should learn how precious human lives are and that no one has the right to tale them away.

Abdalla said he always wanted to visit and he was satisfied that the right time came. The group helped him a lot. Unlike Rafiqa and Haya – he studied in East Jerusalem schools so he knew absolutely nothing about the Holocaust. For him the visit was extremely important in order to understand that the horrors of the Holocaust have to be acknowledged, regardless of our conflict here.

 

We then moved to plan themes for the coming year. Many ideas were brought up: Biblical/Quranic figures, prayer, illness, death, next world, dreams, science etc etc.

 

The next encounter will take place on Monday, December 21^st, and will focus on Jacob.

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

To all our Jewish friends we wish:

Happy Hanukah!!

 

(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

On Friday, September 24^th, we held another encounter of the Jerusalem-Hebron study group.

Naturally, we focused on the Holiday of the season – Ramadan and Eid el-Fitr for the Muslims, and New Year, Day of Atonement and Sukkot for the Jews. The conversation flowed smoothly between the three languages: Hebrew, Arabic and English, and again we could all notice – through our ears – how close Hebrew and Arabic are and how important it is for the two peoples to know the two languages.

We tried to understand the meaning of fasting for the believer in Judaism and Islam, and how is the actual experience of the Holidays in each community. The conversation rolled, as usual, also to other places – personal and "political". We talked about the place of women in the religious world. According to the Muslim participants, Islam forbids women's prayer in the Mosque and orders them to pray at home. Still, women do come to the Mosque to pray, especially on Fridays, although there is no formal "women's section" as there is in Synagogues.  They pray in the upper floor of the Mosque or similar. In a way this is similar to the Jewish Halacha – women are not obliged to pray with the community and their coming to the Synagogue is permissible.  There is a certain gap between the Halacha and Sharia and the actual behavior. A clear example is the blowing of the Shofar. Halachically women are exempt but any visitor to a Synagogue in Rosh Hashana can see that the women's section is full with women who came to listen to the Shofar.

Later we shared thoughts about the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After two years of building our relations, charged issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, settlements etc. were discussed in a surprising calm way. Participants raised ideas and views that are outside the common stereotypes. Some of them focused on the political solution – one state, two states etc., while others preferred to leave the practical solution to politicians (or to the Messiah…) and saw our main task in inter-personal dialogue.

Reported: Dotan Arad

 

 ביום ה', ו' תשרי תש"ע (24.9.09) קיימנו פגישה של קבוצת הלימוד ירושלים-חברון.

מטבע הדברים, הדיון התמקד בחגים הרבים של תקופה זו – רמצ'אן ועיד אלפִטְר למוסלמים, וראש-השנה, יום כיפור וסוכות ליהודים. הדיון עבר באופן טבעי בין שלוש שפות: עברית, ערבית ואנגלית, ושוב יכולנו כולנו להיווכח, בשמיעת האוזן, לקרבה הרבה בין העברית לערבית, ולחשיבות הרבה שבלימוד שתי השפות הללו בשני העמים.

ניסינו להבין מה משמעות הצום עבור המאמין ביהדות ובאסלאם, ואיך נראית חוויית החגים בפועל בכל קהילה. הדיון התגלגל, כרגיל, גם למקומות אחרים – אישיים ו"פוליטיים". דיברנו על מקומן של הנשים בעולם הדתי. לדברי המשתתפים המוסלמים, הקוראן אוסר על תפילת נשים במסגד, ומורה עליהן להתפלל בביתן. למרות זאת, נשים מגיעות למסגד להתפלל (בעיקר בימי שישי), על אף שאין "עזרת נשים" רשמית כמו בבתי הכנסת. נשים אלו מתפללות בקומה העליונה של המסגד וכדומה. במידה מסוימת יש כאן דמיון להלכה היהודית – נשים אינן חייבות בתפילה בציבור ובואן לבית הכנסת אינו אלא רשות. ישנו פער מסוים בין ההלכה/השריעה לבין ההתנהגות בפועל. דוגמה בולטת לכך ההיא תקיעת שופר. לפי ההלכה נשים פטורות משמיעת קול השופר, אך כל מבקר בבתי הכנסת בראש השנה יכול היה לראות שעזרת הנשים מלאה בנשים שבאו לשמוע את השופר.

בהמשך חלקנו מחשבות לגבי עתיד הסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני. נושאים טעונים כמו ירושלים, בעיית הפליטים, ההתנחלויות וכו' נידונו בנינוחות מפתיעה לטעמי. המשתתפים העלו רעיונות ועמדות שאולי חורגים מהסטריאוטיפ המקובל. בין המשתתפים היו שחיפשו את הפתרון הפוליטי – מדינה אחת לשני עמים, שתי מדינות לשני עמים וכד', והיו שנטו להשאיר את הפתרון המעשי לפוליטיקאים (או למשיח...) וראו את הדיאלוג ברמה האישית כמשימה העיקרית המוטלת עלינו.

דיווח : דותן ארד

 

يوم الخميس 24.9.09 التقت مجموعة التعليم القدس – الخليل

من طبيعة الامور دار الحديث في هذا اللقاء عن الاعياد بمناسبة الاعياد الكثيرة التي نمر بها في تلك الفترة اما شهر رمضان او عيد الفطر لدى المسلمين واما يوم الغفران وعيد المظلة لدى اليهود فجرى الحوار بشكل طبيعي في ثلاث لغات, العربية العبرية والانجليزية, ولكنا كنا اذان صاغية بسبب التشابه والتقارب بين العبرية والعربية وللاهمية الكبرى في تعلم هاتين اللغتين للشعبين.

حاولنا ان نفهم ماذا يعني الصوم لدى الانسان المؤمن المسلم واليهودي وماهية فرحة العيد لدى كل طائفة, وكالمعتاد توسع النقاش وتطرقنا لمواضيع مختلفة , مواضيع شخصية, سياسية وكذلك تكلمنا عن مكانة المرأة من الناحية الدينية وحسب اقوال المشاركين المسلمين وكما ذكر في القران على المرأة ان تؤدي الصلاة ومحبذ ان تكون صلاتها في بيتها على ان تصليها في المسجد وعلى الرغم من ذلك فهي تصلي في المسجد وخاصة يوم الجمعة حيث لا يوجد مقصورة تخص النساء بشكل رسمي كما هو الحال في الكنيس لدى الطائفة اليهودية اولئك النساء يصلين في الطبقة العلوية من المسجد وغير ذلك ان توفر مكان. في وضع ما هناك تشابه في السنن اليهودية – النساء اليهوديات ليس عليهن فرض الصلاة جماعة ومجيئهن للكنيس هو فقط سلطة , يوجد هناك فجوة بين الشرع والواقع علي سبيل المثال النفخ في البوق النساء معفيات من سماع البوق ولكن كل من يقوم بزيارة الكنيس في راس السنة يمكنه رؤية مقصورة النساء كيف تكون مليئة بالنساء اتين من اجل سماع البوق.

بعد ذلك اعطينا أرائنا لمستقبل الصراع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني  , موضوع القدس, الاجئين , الاستيطان وغير ذلك و تحورنا بشكل مدهش المشاركين طرحوا افكار واراء ممكن تكون شاذة عن المعقول المشاركين طرحوا حلول لهذا الوضع : مدينة واحدة لشعبين , مدينتين لشعبين وغيرة ومنهم من ترك الحل الفعلي لسياسيين او ريما يأتي المسيح وعبروا عن رأيهم بان الحوار كان كمهمة أساسية ملقاة على عاتقهم.

تقرير : دوتان أراد

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

1)  Visit to the Islamic Museum, Hapalmach st.#2, Jerusalem , June 2009

 

We were graciously hosted by the Islamic Museum, thank to Ms. Rafiqua Othman, former IEA Board member who helped us organize this unique and moving visit.

 

We were very fortunate to be received by Ms. Suraya Jaber, an extremely brilliant young lady, guide at the Museum, who gave us an excellent tour of the current exhibitions. Ms Jaber speaking fluently Hebrew and Arabic could switch freely between both languages, captivating the audience by her deep knowledge and emotion - talking to a joint Israeli Jewish and Arab group doesn't happen everyday!!  

 

We were about 20+ ladies, Christians, Muslims and Jewish members of WIE. Beyond up-to-date explanations about the Islamic faith, the pilgrimage in Mecca, which is a duty for every Muslim once in his lifetime, we visited the jewelry, carpets exhibitions and the very impressive hall showing Israeli-Arab works, depicting the anguish and difficulties facing them in their daily life. 

 

Particularly moving were the works showing young Arab women's plight in their traditional patriarchal and conservative society.

 

2) WIE July meeting at the American Cultural Center

 

About 15 WIE Christian, Muslim and Jewish members gathered at the American Cultural Center, kindly invited and received by Ms. Linda Slutzky, Director of the Center. 

 

Our monthly topic was "Fasting in our three monotheistic religions -Christianity, Islam and Judaism".

 

The Islamic point of view was presented by Fadwa, the Christian aspect by Seta, and the Jewish angle by Evelyne.

 

Some Christian students joined our group and expressed great interest, asking several questions during the break, sipping tea and coffee graciously offered by the American hosts.

 

 

3) WIE November meeting at the Swedish  Theological Institute

 

This was a meeting dedicated to our future activities following a long summer and holidays recess - the Jewish month of Tishri and the Muslim month of Ramadan.  The topics were choosing women's issues and viewing few short films related to coexistence, Jewish and Muslim youth education and bridging cultural gaps. 

All this  was discussed very informally among the 10+ participants, while sampling delicious pitas filled with falafel, hummus and salad.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 Seta, Saheer  and Evelyne

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

Dear Friend,

 

As a friend of the Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA), you are already familiar with the crucial work that IEA is doing to build relationships and create the conditions for sustainable coexistence in the Holy Land. We would like to keep you updated regarding IEA’s recent activities, and we encourage you to ‘stay tuned’ for the exciting developments to come!

 

Every year is busier and more exciting than the last, as IEA continues to grow. We currently maintain 31 ongoing dialogue groups, and in 2008 IEA organized 150 programs which included more than 4,000 people from all walks of life. But IEA is not only growing numerically--we are also at the cutting edge of interfaith initiatives in the Holy Land, constantly exploring novel ways of bringing people together. For example, IEA has established the only two groups which regularly bring together Israeli settlers with local Palestinians. Last year, IEA was honored to be named among the 60 projects to receive the title of “the entrepreneurial project that will change the face of tomorrow” at the Israeli Presidential Conference. IEA was the only peaceful coexistence initiative to be chosen for this award--a distinction which we believe reflects the unique potential of IEA’s approach to peacemaking.

 

Of course, the recent economic downturn is felt by everyone, but the task of building sustainable relationships in the Holy Land is no less urgent than it was in easier financial times. IEA remains committed to maintaining its current strong growth rate. Today, when belts everywhere are tightening, IEA continues to depend on the generous donors who make it possible to continually expand the ‘islands’ of coexistence created by our dialogue programs.

 

Now more than ever, it is important for donors to have confidence that their donation will go as far as possible, and IEA prides itself on its ability to make big things happen on small budgets. For example, just $30 covers the administrative costs of one interfaith encounter session, and $100 will cover the transportation fees to bring Palestinian youth to Israel for an encounter experience! We hope you will remember both our growth and our thrift as you consider donating for this and the upcoming year. Please find enclosed instructions for making your tax-deductible donation.

 

The community that IEA is building is not limited by geography or nationality. Not only our local participants, but also our international supporters and donors are part of the larger cross-cultural conversation which IEA is facilitating. We hope that you will keep in touch, and continue to honor us with your financial and creative support.

 

Best,

 

Yehuda Stolov

Executive Director

 

 

 

Ways to donate to the Interfaith Encounter Association:

 

 

 

1.      Please send a check payable to
“INTERFAITH  ENCOUNTER  ASSOCIATION”
12/34 Ha'arazim Street
P.O.Box 3814
Jerusalem 91037
Israel

2.      Tax-deductible contributions in the U.S.A.: 
Friends of the Interfaith Encounter Association
c/o Dominic Bellino
3 N 923 Bonnie Drive
St. Charles, IL 60175

Dear friends,

If you are in the UK and wish to make a tax-deductible donation – please consider doing it through the Global Giving website: http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/1600/proj1520a.html

Please also find below two updates from IEA's Galilee Women's Interfaith Encounter group.

Yours,

Yehuda

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(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

In March 2009

We went together, 17 women, to Germany for five days in the Frankfurt area. We enjoyed it very much as the German hosts really treated us in the best possible way. They organized a special party for us, for Easter, with a specially decorated hall, giving us gifts and preparing a royal dinner for us. Every day we used to go in a bus, with three people from the municipality, to visit the city and all our needs were very well taken care of. In the evenings we were having social activities t help consolidate our group and get to know each other's culture. It was a genuine opportunity for inter-personal and group acquaintance between the Jewish and Christian women, especially that we were just before Pesach and Easter. The Holiday atmosphere had great impact on the spirit of all the women and brought lots of positive energy to the circle and to all visits and activities in the Frankfurt area.

We returned full of hope, love and desire to continue in encounters and geeting to know each other better.

 

March 22^nd, 2009

 

15 Jewish women and 6 Arab women came to the encounter and it was great.

The atmosphere was very pleasant with lots of good will. Especially the Jewish women wanted to hear and get to know the Arab culture so they asked many questions to which the women from the village answered willingly.

It was very interesting and the food was very delicious. We decided that in the next encounter we will start early so we have the chance to visit the village before we eat.

 

Reported: Randa Zrik-Sabag

 

 

 חודש מרץ 2009   

 

נסענו 17 נשים ביחד לגרמניה, נשארנו באזור פרנקפורט למשך 5 ימים, נהנינו מאוד היה באמת כיף לא נורמאלי ופינוק מדהים הגרמנים אירחו אותנו בצורה הכי טובה שיש. הם גם קיימו מסיבה מיוחדת עבורינו לרגל פסחה, האולם היה מקושט בצורה יפה ומיוחדת, גם באותו ערב חלקו לנו מתנות והכינו ארוחת ערב מלכותית לכבודנו. כל יום מהבוקר היינו יוצאות באוטובוס לטיולים בעיר ותמיד ליוו אותנו 3 אנשים מטעם המועצה ודאגו לכל הצרכים שלנו, דבר שבאמת הפתיע אותנו לטובה. בערבים היינו יושבות באולם המלון ומעבירות הפעלות ופעיליות חברתיות של גיבוש, הכרה ותרבות ובאמת היתה הזדמנות להיכרות אישית, בין אישית וקבוצתית בין המשתתפות הנוצריות והיהודיות במיוחד שהיינו שם לפני הפסח והפסחה , אווירת החגים השפיעה על המורל של כל הנשים והביאה הרבה אנרגיות חיוביות למעגל ולשאר הפעיליות והסיורים באזור פרנקפורט.

חזרנו משם מלאות תקווה, אהבה ורצון להמשיך במפגשים והיכרות.

 

 

22/3/09

 המפגש היה מצויין  הגיעו 15 יהודיות ו-6 ערביות

היה מאוד נחמד,אווירה מאוד נעימה עם הרבה רצון אצל היהודיות במיוחד להכיר ולשמוע על התרבות הערבית ואז התחילו לשאול כל מיני שאלות והנשים מהכפר ענו בכיף

גם היה מאוד מעניין עבורם כל האוכל הטעים והכיבוד הטוב-באמת היה טוב-קבענו שהמפגש הבא יהיה אחרי הפסח והפסחא ושיהיה קצת מוקדם כדי שיזדמן לנו לעשות סיבוב היכרות בכפר לפני הארוחהظ

 

דיווחה : רנדה זריק – סבג

 

 

في شهر اذار 2009

 

سافرنا 17 امرأة معا الى المانيا بقينا في منطقة فرنكفورت لمدة 5 ايام سعدنا جدا وكانت متعة رائعة غير طبيعية وتدليل مدهش استقبلونا الالمان بشكل مدهش واقاموا لنا احتفال خاص بمناسبة عيد الفصح القاعة كانت مزينة بشكل رائع ومميز وفي نفس الامسية قاموا بتوزيع الهدايا علينا وقدموا لنا وجبة عشاء مثل الملوك , في كل صباح كنا نخرج في الباصات لجولة في البلد برفقة 3 اشخاص من المجلس واهتموا بكل طلباتنا وهذا الشيء ادهشنا وفي المساء كنا نسهر ونقضي وقتنا في قاعة الفندق كنا نقوم ببعض النشاطات والفعاليات والتعارف وتنسيق البرامج والاقتراحات كانت فرحة لا توصف وكانت فرصة للتعارف على بعض اما بشكل فردي او جماعي بين الزميلات اليهوديات والمسيحيات وخاصة اننا كنا هناك قبل عيد الفصح والفصحة لدى الطائفتين, اثرت اجواء الاعياد في مشاعرنا وعلى مزاجنا فزودتنا بالطاقة في عمل النشاطات والجولات في منطقة فرنكفورت.

عدنا وكلنا فرح وسعادة على امل في استمرارية مثل هذه اللقاءات.

 

في شهر اذار 22.3.09

التقت مجموعة نساء الجليل في هذا الشهر وكان لقاء ممتاز شارك في هذا اللقاء 15 إمرأة يهودية و 6 نساء عربيات كان جو مريح ولقاء شيق ذو رغبة خاصة لدى النساء اليهوديات اللواتي اردنا الاطلاع ومعرفة الثقافة العربية فبدأنا بطرح الاسئلة المتنوعة ونساء القرية اجبنا على أسئلتهن بكل سرور  وكذلك الطعام الذي قدم لهن كان رائع ومثير فقد حددنا موعد اللقاء المقبل ان يكون بعد عيد الفصح عند الطائفة اليهودية وان يكون مبكرا حتى تسنح لنا الفرصة العمل اكثر وتقديم تقرير بذلك.

تقرير رندة زريق – صباغ

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

 

Dear friends,

 

IEA's 30^th group – the Circle of Light and Hope Interfaith Encounter group – which is run jointly with the Palestinian Peace Society of Hebron, will hold and intimate retreat between 10-11 December 2009. There are a few available places for Israelis (the Palestinian group is full) and you can find all the details below. Please note that if more people register than available places – priority will be given to people who can commit to join the group's monthly encounters.

 

Best wishes,

 

Yehuda

 

 

A joint retreat of 

Palestinian Peace Society and Interfaith Encounter Association

The Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA) is pleased to invite you to the coming

retreat of interfaith encounter and conversations for Israelis and Palestinians, co-

organized by IEA with the Palestinian Peace Society. We are very excited to continue 

the process of building true and sustainable peaceful relations in the Holy Land 

through deep and sincere interfaith dialogue. Alongside with the bigger retreats we 

are now able to hold thanks to the Canadian Government, we are deeply grateful to 

the Austrian Hospice for the ability to continue also with these more intimate retreats.

This retreat will be held in the charming Guest House of the Austrian Hospice, at

the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, on 10-11 December 2009. 

During the conference we will engage in non-political interfaith conversations

designed to help participants better know "the other" in his/her humanity, which we 

believe can make a substantial contribution to human peace among the two peoples 

and three faiths that share this Holy Land. We will also sing together religious and 

cultural songs and have time for spontaneous conversations.

Time:     From Thursday afternoon December 10th, 2009 

till Friday early afternoon December 11th. 

Place:     The Guest House of the Austrian Hospice, Old City of Jerusalem

Registration:   Please respond by email to yehuda@... 

Please note:

·        Place is extremely limited – the retreat will be small and intimate.

If you want to make sure you are in – please register quickly.

·        Affiliation dues for 2009 are 100 NIS. We ask you to make the effort, if you

can, and support us. Paying the affiliation dues gives priority when space is 

limited and reductions off participation fees, but mainly helps running the 

Interfaith Encounter Association, support existing projects and initiate new 

ones.

·        The Austrian Hospice can not provide Kosher food but can provide 

vegetarian food. Please indicate on the registration form.

·        The language of the retreat will be English but most probably someone can 

translate for you if you need.

 

One participant wrote after the retreat: "Thank you so much for organizing the interfaith encounter at the Everest Hotel, November5th-7th.

It was a stimulating and exciting experience for me, and all the participants clearly felt likewise. It was a unique opportunity to bond with Palestinians across the national and religious "divide", and to learn about one another's respective traditions and culture. 

Above all, it was a very significant reminder of the plain fact that we are all individuals, with similar hopes, dreams and concerns."

 

What actually happen at there retreat?

 

In the afternoon of November 5^th we opened the 27^th Israeli-Palestinian retreat of interfaith encounter. It was again a joint retreat of the Interfaith Encounter Association and the Hope Flowers School, sponsored by Canada's Networking for Peace program – to whom we are deeply grateful.

 

We began by briefly introducing the two organizations and their activities, followed by introduction of the agenda for the retreat and its guiding principles. Then participants went into small conversation groups for a session of self-introduction. They first shared their life story and then they each shared with each other elements of the story of Joseph that inspire or move them.

 

After dinner we enjoyed a social evening with Palestinian flavor of the Oud and singing, followed by relaxed conversations into the night.

 

The morning of the second day began with the Jewish perspective. Unfortunately, Nachum – who was planned to deliver the Jewish presentation – could not come in the last minute so Yehuda replaced him. He presented the Biblical story from Genesis about Joseph being the son of Jacob's beloved wife, being favored etc.

 

As usual, after each of the presentations the conversation continued in the small groups.

 

After the Muslims returned from the Jumaa prayer, Yasser presented the Koranic story, which is nearly identical to the Biblical one. There are, though, a few interesting differences between the stories. According to the Koran Jacob suspected that the brothers plan to harm Joseph and did not agree he will go with them to the field until they swore to him that they will bring him back safely. Later – Joseph refused to go out of prison until it was proven that he was innocent. Joseph revealed himself to Benjamin already when they were together for the first time, but asked hin to keep it secret. The brothers did return without Benjamin but after Jacob became blind out of sorrow – they went back to ask Joseph to release Benjamin. Then Joseph revealed to them, they apologized and he gave them his shirt to put on Jacob's face in order to cure him.

 

Before sunset we all gathered for a prayers session. The Jewish participants gave a short explanation about the special prayer for the receiving of Shabbat and performed it with a lot of singing, Karlebach style. Then the Muslim participants explained the Muslim prayers and their preparations and performed the evening prayer. The conversations around prayers continued for some time. Then Chana shared a story, coming from the Jews of Afghanistan, about the search for justice, followed by personal reflections of participants.

 

Dinner was followed by relaxed informal conversations through the evening, which continued on Saturday with some of the Palestinians who returned to visit the Jews who stayed in the Everest Hotel until the end of Shabbat.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

To all our American friends we wish:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ADAMA (Abu Dis and Maaleh Adumim) hosted a special gathering in Maaleh Adumim on October 4^th to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Succot. 

Unfortunately, due to the closure during the Jewish holidays (no permits are issued during Jewish holidays), we were unable to have any of our Moslem participants attend this gathering.

 

We welcomed eight people from the Evangelical Lutheran Church, who teach in various Arab Christian schools in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Beit Jalah.  They were from many different parts of the United States and are here for a year's program.   Leah's husband demonstrated the tradition of saying a blessing on the lulav and etrog (palm branches and citron) and waving them.  Leah explained the source of this tradition which comes from Leviticus 23:40 .  “On the first day you shall take the product of the beautiful (hadar) tree, branches of palm trees, thick branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days”, and translated the blessing into English.  She further explained the items as symbols of the importance of unity among different types of Jews.  The etrog, a fruit, has both a flavor and a scent, like a Jew who is both learned and observant of the commandments.  The lulav is from a date palm, and so it has a taste but no scent - liken to a Jew who is learned but does not apply that knowledge in action.  A myrtle has a pleasant odor but there is nothing tasty about it, and it is the Jew who has little Torah learning behind his or her observance.  Finally the willow lacks both fragrance and food value, just like the Jew who neither studies the Torah nor keeps the commandments.  The differences between Jews may be substantial, but, like the lulav and etrog which must be held together for the waving ritual, only when Jews come together do they merit a blessing.

 

We then had a festive meal together inside the Sukkah which was large enough to fit all the guests, who had never eaten in a Sukkah before.  We exchanged hopes that we will keep in touch and be able to visit each other in the future.

 

(Report by Leah Lublin – Jewish coordinator)

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

To all our Muslim friends we wish:

Happy Eid el-Adha – Kul Am Wantum Bekheir!!

 

(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

 

In the monthly encounter of the "Or-Nur" group, held on July 11^th, we focused on Chinese medicine.

The hostess's daughter deals with the subject for some 20 years and she told us about both the historical and the practical aspects. She started with her own personal story, how she decided to study Chinese Medicine, and explained the Chinese view of human health, which is very different from the Western one. She told us about Acupuncture, which is based on using special needles on the patient, in special points, in order to improve the flow of energy in the body and its health. Finally she told us about Sheng Zhen Qi Gong: Qi Gong means energy exercises meant to make the energy of life flow balanced and intense. It is part of the Chinese medicine and is unique in opening the heart and the development of unconditional love and bringing faiths and nations closer, which makes it especially relevant to us and our group.

The theme was very interesting for the woman, for some of them it was new and they asked many questions about their and their family's health.

As usual we ate good food prepared by the hostess and had good joint conversations and laughs.

 

Reported: Rachel Epstein

 

 

בפגישה החודשית של קבוצת "אור-נור" שנערכה ב-11/7 התמקדנו בנושא הרפואה הסינית. 

ביתה של המארחת עוסקת בנושא כבר כ-20 שנה והיא האירה את עינינו גם לצד ההיסטורי וגם לצד המעשי, רפואי.  היא התחילה מספורה האישי, כיצד החליטה ללמוד רפואה סינית, הסבירה רבות על ההסתכלות הסינית על בריאות האדם, שהיא שונה מאד מתפיסה המערבית. היא ספרה על הדיקור הסיני, המתבסס על דקירת המטופל בסיכות דקות במיוחד במקומות מסוימים בגוף כדי לשפר את זרימת האנרגיה בגוף ואת בריאות האדם. לסיום הסבירה על  שנג זן צ'י-קונג:  צירוף המילים צ'י קונג משמעו תרגילי אנרגיה, שמטרתם הזרמת אנרגיית החיים הפנימית של הגוף, איזונה והמרצתה, הצ'י קונג מהווה חלק מהרפואה הסינית והייחוד של תורה זו בגישתה לפתיחת הלב, ופיתוח איכות של אהבה ללא תנאי וקירוב לבבות בין דתות ועמים, כאן אנחנו מוצאים אותנו ואת הקבוצה שלנו.   

הייתה התעניינות רבה בנושא, חלק מהבנות לא ידעו כלל על הנושא ושאלו שאלות לגבי בריאותן ובריאות משפחתן.  כרגיל אכלנו אוכל טעים שהמארחת הכינה ושוחחנו וצחקנו יחד. 

 

דיווחה: רחל אפשטיין

 

 

في اللقاء الشهري لمجموعة النور والذي تم في تاريخ 11.7.2009 كان موضوع هذا اللقاء الطب الصيني حيث التقينا في بيت المضيفة والتي تعمل في هذا المجال منذ 20 سنة. بدأت الموضوع من خلال قصتها الشخصية وكيف قررت تعلم الطب الصيني واوضحت لنا الكثير من التطلعات الصينية في مجال صحة الانسان والتي تختلف عن التفكير الغربي, شرحت لنا عن الابر الصينية حيث يتم حقن المريض بابر دقيقة ورفيعة في اماكن معينة بالجسم حتى يتم تأثيرها على جريان الطاقة بالجسم من اجل صحة الانسان. في النهاية شرحت لنا عن "شنغ زن شي-كونغ" دمج الكلمات معناه تمارين طاقة والهدف منها جريان طاقة الحياة الداخلية للجسم وتوازنه وتنشطيه, "هشي كونغ" هي جزء من الطب الصيني وتوحيد هذه النظرية منهاج لفتح وتطوير المحبة دون أي شرط وتقريب القلوب بين الديانات والناس, وهكذا نحن نرى انفسنا ومجموعتنا .

كان اهتمام كبير في الموضوع قسم من البنات لم يعرفن الكثير عن الموضوع وسألوا عدة اسألة في هذا المجال وبخصوص صحة عائلاتهن وصحتهن. وكالمعتاد الطعام كان لذيذ قامت بتحضيره المضيفة وتمتعنا معا.

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

Dear friends,

 

Please find below a summary, written by Ms. Nomi Yeshua of the Jerusalem Foundation, from the special "First Annual Interfaith Tolerance Symposium" – co-organized by the Interfaith Encounter Association, together with Mishkenot Shaananim and the Jerusalem Foundation – on September 15^th, 2009.

 

The full day symposium was made of four parts:

1. A closed morning and early-afternoon gathering of some thirty religious leaders and interfaith field activists.
   This gathering aimed at creating a forum dedicated to the "new" interfaith dialogue – the one that is engaged rather than theoretical, all-inclusive rather than elitist and dialogical rather than focused on panels of experts speaking to passive audiences. This type of dialogue is emerging in the last decade and sees its aim not in the dialogue itself but in the relationships it nourishes and the communities built through these relationships.
   Loyal to this approach the morning gathering uniquely brought together religious leaders, who are connected to mainstream communities, and interfaith activists who actually coordinate encounters on the field. Their conversations focused on practical ways to enhance the activity and its effectiveness. Between the opening and summarizing plenaries, facilitated by Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director of the Interfaith Encounter Association, participants had in-depth conversations in five sub-groups: Inter-faith dialogue throughout history: religious coexistence models from the past; Youth and young adults inter-faith dialogue; Inter-faith dialogue as a tool for promoting tolerance; Ethics and human rights in religion; and: Public inter-faith encounters.
   
   
2. A panel discussion open to the public with distinguished religious leaders, under the title: Universal Understanding of Tolerance through Faith.
   The panel was filmed and can be found (in two parts) in the following link: http://194.90.130.106/video/9_22/
   
   
3. Inter-faith prayer ceremony at the site of the Tolerance Park and Monument. The ceremony was also filmed and can be found in the above link.
   Concert – East Meets West at the Jerusalem Music Center.

 

The day was a very successful, multi-dimensional, experience and we look forward to continue the process and further develop the forum.

 

Yours,

 

Yehuda

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Interfaith Symposium Celebrates Tolerance

“This is the city beloved by many believers,” said Mr. Aleksander Gudzowaty, initiator and creator of the Tolerance Monument and Park in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Impulse for Tolerance Movement, as he summed up his remarks at the First Annual Interfaith Tolerance Symposium, held at Mishkenot Sha’ananim on September 15, 2009. “Let us let Jerusalem become the city of peace.”

Mr. Gudzowaty’s remarks opened the afternoon session at the day-long Symposium, which was held on the anniversary of the dedication of the Tolerance Monument and Park at the Goldman Promenade overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem in 2008. Facilitated by the Jerusalem Ethics Center at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the Jerusalem Foundation and the Interfaith Encounter Association, made possible by the generosity of Mr. Gudzowaty, the Symposium sought to initiate a process of serious discussions among religious leaders of different faiths, of how to use interfaith dialogue as a vehicle for advancing the message and values of tolerance.

The afternoon panel discussion was entitled “Universal Understanding of Tolerance through Faith”. Sheikh Abed Alsalam Manasra, Head of the Salam Qadiri Sufi Order of Islam and His Excellency Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, Representative of Stansilaw Cardinal Dziwisz and the Polish Catholic Church both agreed - religion itself that was not the problem. Religion preaches peace; Religion preaches respect for oneself and one another. Religion preaches not to hurt any of G-d’s creations, which includes all mankind. It is man – the religious man – that causes the problems, and his interpretations of religion.

Bishop Pieronek proposed that, because man is the problem, in order to affect change we must work on men of religion, teaching them not only to preach religion but also to influence men to be tolerant of one another. After witnessing the horrors of World War II in Poland, and living through 40 years of religious intolerance in Communist Poland, he is convinced that “lack of tolerance is the greatest threat to peace.”

Dr. Albert Lincoln, Secretary-General of the Baha’i International in Haifa, discussed the question: If religion is supposed to preach love and tolerance, why isn’t the process bringing about real change? Why are the fires of religious prejudice still raging? He, too, hinted that the problem was with the people, not the religion, noting that it is often religious leaders who exhibit the most intolerance. “the value of tolerance is too minimalist,” he said. “Instead of pleading for tolerance we should be practicing it.”

Rabbi Dr. Dov Maimon, an educator and long-time participant in inter-faith activities, explained that, in the book of Genesis, one of the first descriptions of life with more than one person was the story of Cain and Abel – a story of conflict. In other words, conflict has been around since the beginning of time, and we must find a way to circumvent it. It is true that religious leaders feed the fires of intolerance, Dr. Maimon continued. There is an inherent difficulty in orthodoxy of any religion – by nature it says that my religion is the one true religion, to the exclusion of all others. At the same time, if religion is part of the problem, it MUST be part of the solution.

Summaries of the conclusions of the working sessions

Ya’ir Sheleg, Senior Researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, who moderated the Panel Discussion, also took a moment to summarize the conclusions of the morning working sessions. These sessions included prominent religious leaders from different streams of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, in addition to a number of activists in inter-faith dialogue. Distinguished guests in the morning sessions included: Rabbi Michael Melchior, former member of Knesset and Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs, Rev. Stansilaw Basista D.Sc., University of Krakow and the Ponitifical Academy of Theology in Krakow, Faculty of History of Religions of the Middle East, and Dr. Marcin Rzepka, University of Krakow and the Ponitifical Academy of Theology in Krakow, Faculty of History of Religions of the Middle East. Their opening presentations set the tone for the working sessions.

Ceremony at theTolerance Monument

The Symposium concluded with an inter-faith prayer ceremony at the Tolerance Monument and Park on the border between East Talpiot and Jabel Mukaber. The ceremony included a musical interlude performed by a multicultural group of students from the Jerusalem Conservatory Hassadna, and continued with Muslim, Jewish and Christian prayers recited by children and followed with Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Baha’i prayers offered by religious leaders from each faith. The Peace Choir from the A-Sallam School in the Galilee also sang a song of peace and the Master of Ceremonies quoted Nelson Mandela, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

The great cellist, Pablo Casals loved Jerusalem dearly and the ceremony concluded with his words, “When shall we become accustomed to the fact that we are human beings? The love of one's country is a natural thing. But why should love stop at the border? Our family is one - each of us has a duty to his brothers. We are all leaves of a tree, and the tree is humanity.” Standing below the Tolerance Monument and the leaves that represent all of us and bind us together, once again the call rang out from that spot, a call for tolerance, mutual respect and acceptance.

Concert – East Meets West

Rounding out the evening was a concert entitled East Meets West, held at the Jerusalem Music Centre, Mishkenot Sha’ananim. The program featured F. Mendelssohn (1809-1847): String Quartet Op. 80 in f minor (c. 25'), performed by the Carmel Quartet, followed by Classical Arabic and Middle-Eastern pieces on oud, mandolin, double bass and percussion, performed by Ensemble Mactub.

“The performance was amazing. An excellent way to finish off the day,” said one participant.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

Dear friends,

The Interfaith Encounter Association joined the contest for the best nonprofit. Please go to http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/profile2/interfaith-encounter-association
and write a review about your impression from IEA.

We wish to take the opportunity and wish to all our Bahá'í friends:

Happy Day of Birth of Baha'u'llah!!

Yours,

Yehuda

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية - Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

 

Galilee Women's Interfaith Encounter group – encounter on June 2^nd

 

10 Jewish women came, including 4 religious women from Kfar Haroeh, and 7 Christian women from the village of Eilaboun.

 

The encounter was fascinating and very nice. We first visited the village and then had a festive dinner with different dishes I prepared and Kosher dishes I bought for the religious women.

 

We plan that the next encounter will be held at the home of someone else, one of the group's members from Misgav.

 

Reported: Randa Zrik-Sabag

 

 

קבוצת נשים הגליל – מפגש ב-2.6.09

 

הגיעו 10 נשים יהודיות, ביניהן 4 דתיות מכפר הרואה, ו-7 נוצריות מהכפר.

 

היה מפגש מרתק ונחמד ביותר. עשינו סיור בכפר בהתחלה ואח"כ ישבנו לארוחת ערב חגיגית שהכילה כל מיני מאכלים שהכנתי ומאכלים כשרים שקניתי עבור הדתיות.

 

חשבנו שהמפגש הבא יהיה אצל מישהי אחרת מהקבוצה מבנות משגב בעוד כחודש.

 

דיווחה: רנדה זריק-סבאג

 

 

 

 

مجموعة نساء الجليل

 

التقت المجموعة في تاريخ 2.6.09 حيث شارك في هذا اللقاء 10 نساء يهوديات منهن 4 نساء متدينات من قرية هروعة و7 نساء مسيحيات من قرية عيلبون.

كان لقاء ممتع ورائع , في البداية قمنا بجولة في القرية ومن ثم جلسنا لتناول وجبة العشاء كانت تشمل طعام متنوع كنت قد جهزته وكذلك طعام" كشير" كنت قد اشتريته من اجل السيدات اليهوديات المتدينات فكرنا بان يكون اللقاء المقبل لدى زميلة اخرى من المجموعة تسكن في مسجاف بعد شهر من الان.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

·         In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

·         Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

 

King David in Jerusalem

 

It all started more than two years ago in a breakfast meeting with Mr. Andrey Bykov, who came to Jerusalem on pilgrimage for Easter of 2007. At the time I already knew Mr. Bykov for some 8 years, since he initiated the "Global Dialogue" movement and “Demiurgus Peace International”. Later Mr. Bykov decided to focus his efforts inside Russia and work to restore the connection of its people with their religion. He now sponsors, together with his business partner Mr. Michael Chepel, the St. Nicolas Foundation. Among its various activities, the St. Nicolas Foundation introduces monuments of St. Nicolas in different cities in Russia, so it was only natural for Mr. Bykov to propose a gift to the city of Jerusalem – from the Russian Orthodox Christianity to Judaism and from the Russian people to the Israeli people – in the form a monument of Kind David.

 

Following this conversation I wrote a letter to the Mayor of Jerusalem at the time, Mr. Uri Lopoliansky, outlining the proposal. Consequently I met with the Mayor's advisor on Religious Communities Mr. Mordechai Levi and then the Mayor's advisor on Art and Design Mr. David Sussana.

 

The process was long and not easy but finally the monument was placed and inaugurated six months ago, at the entrance to the compound of King David's Tomb, and is already a natural part of the city and a tourist attraction, as if it was there for centuries. A few weeks ago another stage was completed when the renovation Mr. Bykov sponsored of the entrance to the compound was inaugurated.

 

The two parts of the project nicely exemplify the potential of interfaith cooperation for the prosperity of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

ADAMA (Abu Dis and Maaleh Adumim) met in Maaleh Adumim on September 23^rd. 

Unfortunately, due to the sudden death of a close relative, our Moslem coordinator was not able to pick up the permits necessary to enter Maaleh Adumim, so no Moslem participants attended.  However, Majdi sent his presentation by email.  We had a full house of Jewish participants though. 

 

At first, we sat around the table and had informal discussions about the difficulties that our Moslem participants have to go through in order to get to our meetings, yet they still want to come, despite the hardships.  We spoke about change in ourselves due to meeting the other, and, could these types of meetings have a more global effect and perpetuate peace in the long run?  We each had our opinions about this and the discussions ran quite deep, but we all agreed this was a spark which would hopefully ignite a passionate fire for peace.

 

The theme of this month's meeting was about people who ascended to heaven while alive.

 

In Moslem tradition the night journey that the Prophet Mohammed took in one night around the year 621 consisted of two parts – Isra and Mi'raj.  Most Moslems believe this to be an actual journey, while some believe this to be a dream or vision.

 

The Isra begins when the angel Gabriel comes to Mohammed and brings him the winged steed, Buraq, who carried him to Al Aqsa in Jerusalem.  He leads other prophets of Abrahamic descent in prayer.  He then remounts Buraq and the second part of the journey, the Mi'raj, begins.  He is taken to the heavens where he speaks with earlier prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus and then Gabriel takes him to Allah, who gives him instructions on praying 5 times a day.  The Prophet returns to Mecca and tells his fascinating ordeal to the people.

 

In Judaism, in Kings II, we have the story of Elijah the Prophet  who went up by a whirlwind or in a fiery chariot into heaven (Kings II) while still alive.  However, the midrash says that 7 other people also went up to heaven while alive.  They were - Serach, the daughter of Asher, who was one of Jacob's sons; Enoch, the grandson of Adam (who is also regarded as a prophet in Islam – the Prophet Idris); Eliezer, the servant of Abraham; Hiram, King of Tyre; Ebed Melech, from Ethiopia; Jaabez, the son of Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nagid; and Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh.  We learn that Serach merited this reward because she was the one who informed Jacob that his son Joseph was still alive and the ruler of all Egypt.  In return, Jacob blesses her, saying "May you live forever and never die."

 

(Report by Leah Lublin – Jewish coordinator)

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Interfaith Encounter Association

P.O.Box  3814, Jerusalem 91037, Israel

Phone: +972-2-6510520

Fax:     +972-2-6510557

Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org

 

Board: 

  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

E-mail: yehuda@...

 

Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTERFAITH ENCOUNTER ASSOCIATION. SUPPORT ONE OR MORE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND JOIN US AS A MEMBER IN WORKING FOR INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING AND PEACE.

All contributions are welcome, small and large!

 

NEW: Donate securely on-line (tax deductible in the US) at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm

 

Contributions made from the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K. are tax deductible.

 

You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing lists by sending a blank message to:

• In Israel (gets also invitations):

        iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

·        Abroad (gets reports only):  iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Please note that the reports we send out do not necessarily represent the views of the Interfaith Encounter Association or even of the people who wrote them. The reports represent the views of the people who attended an encounter and their primary purpose is to give you a glimpse of what happened in the encounter.

 

(ערבית ואנגלית אחר העברית – اللغة العربية والانجليزية تتبع اللغة العبرية Arabic & English follow Hebrew)

 

First encounter in Gush Etzion

 

The truth is that I didn't think it will happen. I dreamed about this encounter for a very long
time, imagined it in different colors, even the smell of the Knafe came into my nose in these
daydreams.

After nearly five years, we finally set together nearly 20 people, 18 to be exact: men and
women; older, younger and even children; Palestinians and Settlers. In a small and cozy café
in the center of Gush Etzion. Nearly all of them I collected one by one. With a lot of effort, in
long and short phone conversations, in joint thoughts and brief meetings full of expression.
I started actually from the Arab side. It turned out to be easier. Less than six months and I
already gathered some thirty friends. All willing to meet any time, sending text and email
messages. Pushing for encounter. The Jews I collected at the last straight, in the phase of
nearly-despair. In fact – I was not looking in the right places. I finally found Nachum, a Settler
from Neve Daniel. A few short phone calls plus one meeting over coffee and he already
pushes me to set a date. In the background all the time Yehuda from the Interfaith
Encounter Association. Trying, pushing, succeeds to cast aside the despair that nearly
grabbed me.

 

*****

Three (Jews) and two more (Muslims) already gathered. We need to add another table. In
this way two more and another two more. Finally there is no more room. I give Abd el-Halim
driving directions, and in the mean time laugh at a joke of Dr. Taleb. Finally everybody came.
Every single person that said s/he will come – came, and even brought friends. Eighteen
people sit in a big circle and talk. In between drinking coffee, ordering cake. The waitresses
are loaded with work for us. Plenty of people gathered here.

The conversation runs mostly in Hebrew, with simultaneous translation of Abed and Ribhi
into local Arabic, being played as music with the sounds of the Hebronite Oud and singing.
Three Jews from the same family surprised us participating in fluent Arabic (including the
children). Ramadan, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana, Sukkot. Personal experiences and generous
gestures from both sides. The truth is I didn't feel that there are two side at all to this story. I
did not feel any tension in the atmosphere, not even from the other people sitting in the
café. A kind of pleasantness that weaves people around it, optimistic in their character, in
their energy. May we all have a good year!

 

I want to thank Yehuda who pushed, Nachum who was like air to breath and to all who took
part in this encounter and on the way to it.

 

We plan to meet again in the afternoon of Thursday, November 5^th.

 

Reported: Ayelet Zviel

 

 

מפגש ראשון בגוש עציון

 

האמת, שלא חשבתי שזה יצא לפועל. הרבה זמן חלמתי אודותיו, דמיינתי אותו בצבעים שונים, אפילו ריח
הכנאפה התנחשל לאפי בחלומות בהקיץ שכאלה.

אחרי כמעט חמש שנים ישבנו יחד כ-20 איש ליתר דיוק שמונה עשר איש: גברים ונשים, מבוגרים, צעירים
ואף ילדים, ערבים ויהודים, פלשתינים ומתנחלים. בבית קפה קטן וחמים במרכז גוש-עציון. כמעט את כולם אספתי אחד אחד. בעמל רב, בשיחות טלפון קצרות וארוכות, במחשבות משותפות ובפגישות
קצרצרות ומלאות מבע.

התחלתי דווקא בצד הערבי. שם היה קל יותר, מסתבר. פחות מחצי שנה וכבר אספתי כשלושים חברים. כולם חפצים להיפגש כל העת, שולחים הודעות ואימיילים. דוחפים ל"meeting". את היהודים פגשתי כבר
בישורת האחרונה, בשלב של כמעט-יאוש. בעצם לא חיפשתי במקומות הנכונים. לבסוף מצאתי את נחום. מתנחל מנווה דניאל. בכמה שיחות טלפון קצרות עוד פגישה אחת על קפה וכבר הוא דוחף אותי לתאריך.

ברקע כל הזמן יהודה מאגודת המפגש הבין-דתי. מנסה, דוחף, מצליח לדחות מעט את היאוש שאחז בי.

 

*****

שלושה (יהודים), ועוד שנים (ערביים) כבר נאספו. צריך להוסיף שולחן. כך עוד שנים ועוד שנים. בסוף אין
מקום. אני מנחה את עבד אל-חלים איך להגיע ובין לבין מצטחקת לבדיחה של ד"ר טאלב. בסוף הגיעו כולם. כל מי שאמר שיבוא – הגיע, ואפילו הביא חברים. שמונה עשר איש יושבים במעגל גדול ומשוחחים.
בין לבין שותים קפה, מזמינים עוגה. המלצריות עמוסות עבודה בגללנו. המון אנשים התאספנו כאן.

השיחה מנהלת רובה בעברית, עם תרגום סימולטני של עבד וריבחי לערבית מקומית, מתנגנת לצלילי עוד ושירה חברוניים. הפתיעו שלושה בני משפחה יהודים שהשתתפו בערבית קולחת (כולל הילדים). רמאדאן,
יום כיפור, ראש השנה, סוכות. חוויות אישיות ומחוות נדיבות משני הצדדים. האמת שלא הרגשתי שבכלל יש שני צדדים בסיפור הזה. לא הרגשתי מתח כלשהו באווירה, אפילו לא מהיושבים בחלקו השני של בית הקפה. מן נועם כזה שאורג סביבו אנשים. אופטימיים באופיים, במרצם.

שנה טובה.

 

אני רוצה להודות ליהודה שדחף, לנחום שהיה כמו אויר לנשימה ולכול מי שהשתתף במפגש הזה ובדרך אליו.

 

נפגש בעז"ה שוב ביום חמישי, 5 בנובמבר, אחה"צ.

 

דיווחה: אילת צביאל

 

 

اللقاء الأول في " جوش عتصيون "

انني لم أعتقد في الحقيقية  أننا سنبدأ هذا المشوار . منذ زمن حلمت به ، تخيلته بألوان مختلفة ،  حتى أني استنشقت رائحة الكنافة كحلم من أحلام اليقظة .

بعد ما يقارب الخمس سنوات جلسنا معاً ما يقارب 20 شخص : رجال ونساء ، وبالغين ، شباب وأولاد عرب ويهود ، فلسطينيين ومستوطنين . في مقهى في مركز جوش عتصيون .

انا قمت بجمعهم واحد تلو الآخر . بأسليب كثيرة ، مكالمات هاتفية قصيرة وطويلة ، بأفكار مشتركة ولقاءات قصيرة .

بدأت بالجانب العربي . كان هناك أكثر سهولة ، هكذا كان واضحاً . أقل من ثلاثين عاما جمعت ما يقارب ال 30 شخص . جميعهم كانوا مستعدون للقاء في كل وقت ، يبعثون رسائل و بريد الكتروني يشجعون على اللقاء. أما اليهود فالتقيت بهم بالمرحلة الأخيرة  ، في نوع من اليأس . بلأحرى لم أبحث في الأماكن الصحيحة .

وأخيرا وجدت "ناحوم " . مستوطن من نفي دانييل . بعد العديد من المكالمات الهاتفية القصيرة بالاضافة إلى لقاء على فنجان قهوة مما أدى هذا اللقاء إلى تحديد تاريخ.

حيث أن يهودا من جمعية اللقاء بين الديانات كان كل الوقت يحاول جاهداً منعي من اليأس .

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اجتمع ثلاثة يهود و فلسطينيين . أصبح لدينا حاجة لإضافة طاولة . وهكذا اجتمع 4 أخر . وبالنهاية لا يوجد مكان . أنا كنت أوجه عبد الحليم للوصول إلى هنا هو وباقي الأصدقاء . كان يجلس 18 شخص في دائرة كبيرة بحرية . وفي هذه الأوقات كانوا يشربون القهوة و يأكلون الكعك . النادلات شغلن بسببنا . كثير من الناس اجتمعوا هنا .

أدير اللقاء باللغة العبرية ، مع ترجمة تلقائية للغة العربية من قبل عبد و ربحي ، بالإضافة إلى الأغاني والألحان الجميلة. رمضان، يوم الغفران ، راس السنة ، و عيد العرش . تجارب شخصية من كلا الطرفين . الحقيقة أني لم أشعر أن هناك يوجد طرفين . لم أشعر بأي ضغط خلال هذا اللقاء حتى من الناس الموجودون في المقهى بشكل عام . شيء من الراحة يجعل الناس أكثر مشاركة . تفاؤل بجميع الأشكال .

سنة سعيدة

انا أشكر يهودا الذي شجعني ، و لناحوم الذي كان كالهواء الذي نتنفسه ولكل من شارك بهذا اللقاء .

 

نلتقي ان شاء الله يوم الخميس القادم 5 /11/2009 بعد الظهر.

 

تقرير :  أييلت تسبييل

 

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The Interfaith Encounter Association

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  Ms. Evelyne Savir (Chair)

  Dr. Shlomo Alon

  Ms. Nadia Tutunji-Nuseibeh

  Ms. Saheer Siam

  Mr. Rizk Azam

  Ms. Randa Zreik-Sabag

 

 

Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director

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Mr. Salah Alladin, Assistant Director

 

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