International Connections, May – July 2005
By Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Director of The Interfaith
Encounter Association
As you probably know, the Interfaith Encounter
Association (IEA) has many on-going connections to the international interfaith
scene (you can see in www.interfaith-encounter.org/activities.htm
our current affiliations).
In the last few months we were involved in several
events and we thought it would be interesting for you if we briefly share them
with you:
May 2005:
Project “Towards the creation of a spiritual forum for world peace at the
United Nations”
The project is aimed towards the creation of a
spiritual forum for world peace at the United Nations, which would help to
mobilize the immense spiritual, human and organizational resources of the
religious communities, spiritual traditions, organizations and movements,
interfaith organizations and value-based secular groups, in partnership with
the United Nations and other constituencies of the civil society, in the
pursuit of a more peaceful and equitable world.
The project was endorsed by the Interfaith
Encounter Association and its Executive Director, Dr. Yehuda
Stolov serves on the project's Partnership Committee
that met in
"Critical Moment in Interreligious Dialogue" – World Council of Churches
conference, 7-9 June,
The conference, convened by the Geneva-based World
Council of Churches, 7-9 June 2005, outlined specific strategies which aim to
shift the emphasis of inter-religious relations from dialogue to common action,
including new education and training programs and exchanges which foster a
culture of dialogue.
Symbolic actions which promote healing of historical memory, new structures and
networks, and action plans at the national and regional levels were upheld as
practical ways to follow up.
Participants expressed caution about understandings of dialogue that diminish
particular identities and traditions, and that generate suspicion and hostility
to dialogue within religious communities.
The IEA was represented in the conference by its Executive Director, Dr. Yehuda Stolov who also facilitated one of the plenary sessions. The conference provided many opportunities for meeting with colleagues from
the
For more on the conference and for photos, see the
conference's site at: www.oikoumene.org/interreligious.html
ALLMEP conference, 29-30 June
2005, Washington D.C., USA
A remarkable and exciting event occurred on Capitol
Hill as a new effort to support Arab-Jewish co-existence was born. More than 250 religious, political, business and student leaders
from every political and religious background came together to launch the
While we may all differ on political peace efforts,
which focus on where to draw borders and how to ensure security,
people-to-people co-existence efforts focus on something we can all
enthusiastically support: building relationships between human beings. Every
day, these programs bring ordinary Palestinians and Israelis together to learn,
work, play and talk.
These activities engage individuals first, but
their impact quickly ripples outward. Each participant of interfaith study
groups, each young athlete in a joint soccer league, each
patient in a cooperative medical program becomes a grass-roots diplomat, quietly
spreading the message to family, friends and community that civil relations are
possible and rewarding. These organizations need volunteers, supporters,
advocates, program participants and, yes, financial support. Most work miracles
with modest budgets but are forced to turn away Arabs and Jews who are looking
for a way to reach out across conflict lines. Through ALLMEP, they are working
to raise awareness about their little-known but much-needed work.
The IEA was wonderfully represented in this founding
conference by the Director of its
Annual meeting of the Global
Council and staff of the United Religions Initiative (URI),29
June-1 July,
Seventy members of 2005 and 2008 Global Councils of URI (
www.uri.org ), Global Staff and special
guests have been privileged to share here a week of spirit-filled work,
profound solidarity with a nation yearning for peaceful reunification,
gratitude and celebration. We journeyed to
As you know, the IEA is a Multiple Cooperation
Circle of the URI – with its seven CCs. IEA was represented in the meeting by
its Chair Mr. Shlomo Alon,
who together with his colleagues Mrs. Atefeh Sadeghi from Iran and Ms. Hanan Shahatit from Jordan, serves as the Middle East and North
Africa Region Global Trustees in the 2008 Global Council; and by its Executive
Director Dr. Yehuda Stolov,
who together with his colleague Dr. Mohamed Mosaad
from Egypt serve as the Regional Coordinators of the MENA region and served on
the 2005 Global Council. Also present was IEA's women's
co-coordinator Ms. Elana Rozenman
who serves as one of the Multiregional Region Global Trustees.
"Recognising
our Neighbours – Religious Tolerance in Shared
Societies" –
This conference aimed to work together on the
challenge to develop a tolerant and non-discriminatory society. It was designed
as pan-European and broader in order to help compare and develop strategies for
harmony and cooperation within multi-religious and shared societies. The
The IEA, which is a Member Group of IARF, was
represented with a relatively large delegation that included its Chair and
co-coordinator of our Arabic Interfaith Encounter Mr. Shlomo
Alon, the co-coordinator of our Eilat
Interfaith Encounter Ms. Mazal Katzir,
the two coordinators of IEA's Students' Enviromental Group Ms. Rasha Abu Arshid and Ms. Noa Milikowsky, the co-coordinator of our Jerusalem Youth
Interfaith Encounter Mr. Dotan Arad
and the the co-coordinator of our Tel Aviv Youth
Interfaith Encounter Mr. Shabi Elashvili.
Shabi's and Dotan's
colleagues to the coordinating teams were also invited but unfortunately were
not able to join.
One example of IEA sharing was the story of Dotan, who comes from a very right-wing social context. He
described how he first came to IEA, how he suffered criticism and ridicule, how
his mother was wounded and his good friend was murdered in terrorist-attacks
and how these events weakened him in his work, as he was feeling that he looses
his ability to get his family and friends to listen to his ideas. On the other
hand there were also successes. For example: when he was asked to find a
rabbinical figure for a study day the IEA organized for school principles, he
approach many rabbis and finally managed to convince Rabbi Bigman
of the Maale Hagilboa
Yeshiva to come. He was deeply impressed by the talk of his colleague in the
panel Sheikh Kiwan, the Imam of Majd
el Krum, and a strong connection was instantly formed between them. Today there
is a permanent program for interfaith dialogue in the Yeshiva and who knows if
it is not a result of this study day. The Talmud tells the story of Honi Hame'agel who saw an old man
planting a Carob tree that gives fruits after seventy years. He asked him: do
you expect to live to eat the fruits of this tree?! The old man replied: when I
was born I found carob trees in the world – as my grand-parents planted for me
I plant for my grandchildren. I don't know if we will see full harmonic peace
in the
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Interfaith Encounter Association
Phone: +972-2-6510520
Fax:
+972-2-6510557
Website: www.interfaith-encounter.org
Board:
Mr. Shlomo Alon, Chair
Sr. Karmela Farrugia, Vice-Chair
Sheikh Muhammad Kiwan,
Vice-Chair
Sheikh Ali Birani
Rabbi Dov Maimon
Deacon
Sheikh Tawfiq Salama
Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Director
E-mail: yehuda@interfaith-encounter.org
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 on-line at: http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/donations.htm
Contributions made from the
You and others are welcome to join our e-mailing
lists by sending a blank message to:
·
In
iea-announcements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
·
Abroad (gets reports
only): iea-reports-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
This mail was sent from interfaith-encounter.org
************************************************************************************
This footnote confirms that this email message has
been scanned by
PineApp Mail-SeCure for the
presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses.
************************************************************************************