The Chief Rabbi of Rishon L'Zion, Yosef Azran, sat next to the Imam and started to sing the most beautiful Piyutim (sacred songs) in Arabic, then in Hebrew. Before we knew it, the Rabbis and Imams were sitting in the circle together chanting sacred songs back and forth in Hebrew and Arabic for 3 hours! Observers commented, "Now THIS is the heart of the Congress!".
By the second day, we had broken up into smaller working groups. We helped facilitate a dialogue about the situation in Gaza between one of the Imams from Gaza and Rabbi Zion Cohen, the Chief Rabbi of the Negev Communities who lives in Sderot, a town near Gaza that has been shelled by Qassam rockets.
Even though a close family friend of the rabbi was killed in a Qassam rocket attack, he didn't mention it. His first response was: how can I help organize humanitarian support for the Palestinians of Gaza from the Jewish towns around Gaza.
By the last day of the Congress, over 20 working groups had been formed, working on issues like racism, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism, sharing Jerusalem, rereading the holy texts, misconceptions about Islam.
Most of us present at the Congress left with a renewed sense of hope that if the most religious of the Jews and Muslims could learn to cooperate, then perhaps we were taking a step closer to achieving the seemingly impossible dream for peace in the Holy Land and the wider world.
http://interfaith.israel.net/imansandrabbisforpeace/
ABRAHAMIC REUNION IN TEL SHEVA, JUNE 20
Abrahamic Reunion group member Khalil Albaz, the Imam of Tel Sheva, welcomed us to Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, in the Negev, southern Israel. The head of the Tel Sheva council and the people of Tel Sheva welcomed us.
Rabbi Zion Cohen, whom I had met in Seville, came from his town of Sderot on the border of Gaza. "We as religious leaders need to call out against the violence... our response to the situation should be more meetings like this, to plant the seeds of peace!"
Joining us in dialogue and prayer was an ultra-Orthodox Hasid, religious Muslim Bedouin women, the chief of the police in Tel Sheva and others. Abrahamic Reunion group members Sheikh Bukhari and Ibrahim Abuelhawa called for the Children of Abraham to unite. Ibtisam Mahamid and Elana Rozenman spoke about the important role of women in peacemaking.
At a closing prayer circle, Imam Khalil Albaz led a blessing to support and empower some of the young Bedouin women present, who have a project to produce and market traditional herbal remedies and medicines. Devorah Brous of Bustan spoke of her partnership with these women.
Reverend Charles Gibbs, the Executive Director of URI, offered a prayer and then blessed the work of the Abrahamic Reunion. That we could bring people of such diverse backgrounds together in such a difficult time gave all of us hope for a better future.
In all the midst of all the bad news about the violence in Gaza, the main TV news channel in Israel broadcasted 3 minutes on prime time of our gathering.
Please visit this link to see some amazing pictures from our recent gathering in Tel Sheva.
http://interfaith.israel.net/telsheva_june2006/
RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS AND GRASSROOTS PEACE GROUPS RESPOND
By the second day, we had broken up into smaller working groups. We helped facilitate a dialogue about the situation in Gaza between one of the Imams from Gaza and Rabbi Zion Cohen, the Chief Rabbi of the Negev Communities who lives in Sderot, a town near Gaza that has been shelled by Qassam rockets.
Even though a close family friend of the rabbi was killed in a Qassam rocket attack, he didn't mention it. His first response was: how can I help organize humanitarian support for the Palestinians of Gaza from the Jewish towns around Gaza.
By the last day of the Congress, over 20 working groups had been formed, working on issues like racism, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism, sharing Jerusalem, rereading the holy texts, misconceptions about Islam.
http://interfaith.israel.net/imansandrabbisforpeace/
ABRAHAMIC REUNION IN TEL SHEVA, JUNE 20
Abrahamic Reunion group member Khalil Albaz, the Imam of Tel Sheva, welcomed us to Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, in the Negev, southern Israel. The head of the Tel Sheva council and the people of Tel Sheva welcomed us.
Rabbi Zion Cohen, whom I had met in Seville, came from his town of Sderot on the border of Gaza. "We as religious leaders need to call out against the violence... our response to the situation should be more meetings like this, to plant the seeds of peace!"
Joining us in dialogue and prayer was an ultra-Orthodox Hasid, religious Muslim Bedouin women, the chief of the police in Tel Sheva and others. Abrahamic Reunion group members Sheikh Bukhari and Ibrahim Abuelhawa called for the Children of Abraham to unite. Ibtisam Mahamid and Elana Rozenman spoke about the important role of women in peacemaking.
At a closing prayer circle, Imam Khalil Albaz led a blessing to support and empower some of the young Bedouin women present, who have a project to produce and market traditional herbal remedies and medicines. Devorah Brous of Bustan spoke of her partnership with these women.
Reverend Charles Gibbs, the Executive Director of URI, offered a prayer and then blessed the work of the Abrahamic Reunion. That we could bring people of such diverse backgrounds together in such a difficult time gave all of us hope for a better future.
In all the midst of all the bad news about the violence in Gaza, the main TV news channel in Israel broadcasted 3 minutes on prime time of our gathering.
Please visit this link to see some amazing pictures from our recent gathering in Tel Sheva.
http://interfaith.israel.net/telsheva_june2006/
RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS AND GRASSROOTS PEACE GROUPS RESPOND
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