Coexistence at the "Jaffa Arab-Hebrew Theater"

In the city of Yaffo (Jaffa), along the coast north of Jerusalem, residents continue to turn to the arts as a medium through which to express ideas of coexistence.

According to Israel 21c:

[The Arab-Hebrew Theater has been around since 1998, surviving the dark days of the second intifada, the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead. The troupe comprises two veteran theater companies that previously worked in the area independently: Ezrati's 'Local Theater,' established in 1990, and the Arabic-language 'Al-Seraya,' which first started performing in 1997. Together with his partner Gaby Aldor, Ezrati reached out to Adiv Jahshan, director of Al-Seraya, to establish the Arab-Hebrew Theater.

With its mixed Arab and Jewish population, Jaffa is the perfect place for the troupe to operate. In the spirit of true coexistence, the troupes both work independently, performing plays strictly in Arabic or Hebrew, and hold joint productions in which they mix actors and languages. All the performances are held in the Al-Seraya House. Originally built in the 18th century as a khan (a lodging house or inn), it was later used for purposes as diverse as a governor's mansion and a soap factory.

Today the building is a national landmark, housing both a museum of archaeological finds from ancient Jaffa, and the Arab-Hebrew Theater. The actors with the Local Theater have hailed from all over the country, but are "now mostly Tel Aviv transplants," Ezrati says, while the members of Al-Seraya come mostly from Jaffa.

The joint efforts are 'joint' in every sense of the word, with productions, scripts, and even performance dates decided upon together. The productions chosen generally reflect the troupes' point of view on coexistence, Ezrati explains. For example, he says, the theater's production of 1001 Nights last year was chosen not just because it's a good story, but because it has an important message for Arabs and Jews.

(Hat-tip to Libby and Len Traubman)

Riding the French Friendship Bus

In France, some Jewish and Muslim communal leaders have not been shirking their responsibility to educate youth about the importance of creating dialogue and understanding between human beings:

On a hot afternoon in early June, an unusual looking bus is parked in the central square of this historic city in eastern France.

Passers-by cast sidelong glances at the brightly colored portraits on its side accompanied by such slogans as “Jews and Muslims say no to discrimination” and “We are more alike than you think.”

It is the friendship bus, a project of the French Jewish-Muslim Friendship group, known by the acronym AJMF.

Led by a rabbi and imam, the bus and its team spend five weeks every summer traveling through the French countryside hosting panel discussions, chatting with pedestrians, promoting dialogue, and holding out the hope of mutual respect and cooperation between two communities more often found at odds.

“This is our sixth summer touring France,” said Rabbi Michel Serfaty, AJMF's founder and co-leader of the bus project with Imam Mohamed Azizi. “We fight discrimination and stereotypes, and try to break down the walls between our young people.”

Check out the Jewish Telegraph Agency for the full story.

(Hat-tip to Libby and Len Traubman)

The First Comprehensive Muslim-Jewish Engagement Field Report

The folks at the University of Southern California's Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement have released the very first report on the dialogue occurring between Muslim and Jewish communities in the United States. From their press release:

Debunking conventional wisdom, Muslim and Jewish groups throughout the United States are dialoguing with one another in increasing numbers. A report on the field of Muslim-Jewish engagement issued by the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement (CMJE) indicates that the number of organizations and groups with missions to build relationships between Islamic and Jewish communities in the United States has been growing since 2001 and has risen significantly in the last two years.

This report marks the first comprehensive survey of the burgeoning field and provides recommendations for strengthening and expanding the work done by practitioners. “To grow the field of Muslim-Jewish engagement, we first need to understand it,” says Dafer M. Dakhil, CMJE founding co-director.

CMJE represents the only academic think tank and resource center in North America dedicated specifically to Muslim-Jewish relations. The Center collected data from organizations in the United States and Canada and from participants in the second annual Weekend of Twinningsm, a program that partners mosques, synagogues, and other organizations for a weekend of interfaith programming. The surveys revealed the following trends:

• There has been a significant increase in the formation of these groups after 2001. Nearly half of the groups founded since then were formed within the last 24 months.
• While these groups largely rely on a small core of volunteers, they have extensive networks. Over half of responding groups reach 100 people or more annually. Over a quarter report reaching over 500 people.
• The tech-savvy nature of these groups allows them to reach expanding numbers. Nearly two-thirds possess a website.
• The groups have aspirations to expand their public presence but lack financial and staff resources.
• Groups desire online educational, leadership-building and programmatic resources.
• Events like the Weekend of Twinningsm lead to ongoing organizational relationships that extend beyond formal programming.

Groups engaging in this groundbreaking movement range from intimate groups to national collaborations. In Atlanta, for example, the Jewish-Muslim Women’s Baking Circle brings women of all ages around a kitchen table to bake and build relationships across religious boundaries. The group describes itself as “an informal gathering of women who meet from time to time to bake and talk.” The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding — the organization responsible for the annual Weekend of Twinningsm has created the largest Muslim-Jewish initiative to date. Groups’ objectives include everything from basic education and combating hate to community action and policy advocacy. While much of the focus is external, “the deepest change that students of Muslim-Jewish engagement experience is in their own self understanding,” says Rabbi Reuven Firestone, founding co-director of CMJE.

Galilee Moms Come Together For Peace

We started the Muslim-Jewish Women's Network because it seems pretty clear that the restoration and inclusion of the voices of women worldwide is necessary in order to resolve the conflicts which beset human beings everywhere. Nitsana Bellehesen shares a heartening example of the fruits of women forming cross-cultural relationships:

For a group of Jewish, Christian, Druse and Moslem mothers living in Israel's Galilee region, peace starts in the home.

They started out trading recipes and home secrets - nothing unusual in a group of moms getting together to do that. But these mothers come from four different cultures living in Israel's northern Galilee region and were rarely in contact before.

Founded five years ago by Dr. Anat Pinto who was born in the area, the Christian, Moslem, Druze and Jewish women are a fiercely a-political group, dedicated to creating true friendship.

The Galilee moms range in age from 25 to 70, encompassing every level of education and type of occupation - they are lawyers, teachers, businesswomen, and housewives who share a willingness to leave their comfort zone to create a better society.

They plan seminars and activities for women from all over the country as part of the work of the new non-profit organization that they started last year, called Moms in the Galilee. Seminars focus on a topic that one of the moms specializes in. Two women gave a seminar on family finances, another taught how to cook with local herbs.

Nada, a Druze woman, says, "Someone who wants to make peace has to start from home."