Discovering "the other"

Related articles

Click on the titles below to read about people who are directly involved in interfaith dialogue.

Stories from Gaza	Overcoming prejudice and fear	The Focolare from the Hindu perspective	Jewish-Christian Symposium	Muslims and Christians meet	Interreligious Dialogue and Mary

The articles above are published in the May 2009 issue of Living City.

Jewish, Christian and Muslim youth of the Focolare and the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations share their experience of dialogue in Israel

Miriam
I’m married, have two young children, and teach Jewish religion. I’m responsible for group work in the Keshet High School in Jerusalem. For most of my life I have lived in Tel Aviv, but for the last 10 years I’ve resided in Jerusalem.

Only in the past four years have I had personal contact with Israeli Arabs. I met many Arabs on public transportation, on the street, but I had no dialogue with them. Why? Because I, like many Israelis, felt that the presence of “others” was a threat, and so they were to be feared. The other was not like me, and we shared nothing in common.

Five years ago, the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations asked me to organize meetings between Jews in my school and Armenians in the old part of the city. That is how an activity began that has developed until today.
In 2005 I took a course in interreligious dialogue held by people belonging to three different religions: there were Jews, Christians and Muslims. The scope was to form group leaders who were experts at dialogue. In the meantime, the dialogue began among us participants. It was the first time I spoke with a Muslim woman my age, and it was the first time I led an activity with a Christian from Nazareth. Our dialogue focused on the different aspects of life, and we discovered we could learn and be enriched by so much. When the course was finished, I felt that this dialogue should continue, and not only among individuals. I realized that dialogue had to begin at the highest level possible:
among religions.

We, here in Israel, live with conflict day after day: it’s a conflict that is political, above all, but it involves the confines of territory, the ways to govern. This situation is terrible and makes us suffer on both sides. And what makes us suffer the most is the division created among all people. Let’s not forget that although we come from different peoples and also different religions, each comes with an enriching culture and interesting and valuable stories of individuals born from the three religious traditions.

In 2005, through the JCJCR and its leaders, Daniel Rossing and Hana Bendcowsky, we contacted the Focolare Movement. Together we organized an initiative with youth from Jerusalem and the surrounding cities. Every year, with the help of the JCJCR, we form groups of dialogue with about 30 young people (10 from each religion). The program varies at each meeting: games and activities to get to know one another, moments of reflection, a deepening appreciation for the three religions and socially-geared volunteerism. Recently, we pray together for an end to the war in Gaza.

At first, the young people who participate in the groups of dialogue appeared to be enclosed in three “bubbles,” with no communication among them. Now we see little by little that the distances are shortened and divisions crumble. From three bubbles they form one. Certainly, a “bubble” it is, in view of the surrounding society. But it is society that provides numerous possibilities to love men and women who until now had been considered “the other” and viewed as a threat that instills fear.

On a personal note, I am happy with the relationship I have with Lina, an Arab Christian, Focolare youth leader. In her, I have found a true friend — someone I once considered to be “the other.” This experience has caused many barriers to fall, and it has put me in the disposition to learn. So I have a lot of hope of being able to continue to bring down barriers and to open occasions to young people to give and to receive from one another.

Nura

I am a 17-year-old Muslim, and live in Abu Gosh, a village near Jerusalem. Participating in the project changed my life because I felt that everyone loved and cared for each other. Together we went to visit several sites: the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, the mosque. This experience helped me look at the others as persons, beyond their religion. We are only a small group, but we can grow, and the love that dwells within us will spread throughout the world.

Fadi

I am a 17-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem. My parents are war refugees from the city of Lud. When I joined this project of dialogue, I was strongly prejudiced against Jews, and I would have never thought that we could ever live together and dialogue. But when I met the Focolare, my ideas changed, and I started believing that I could deal with Jews, and I didn’t feel they were my enemies anymore. Through these meetings, my trust is growing that we will reach peace and love.

May

I had a hard time relating to Jewish people; from the start I refused the concept that we could achieve peace. It seemed impossible. Little by little, I found out that with love nothing is impossible. Through this project I met Odeliah who always deals with me with great love. So the barrier that I had built up collapsed, and I felt within me the certainty that TOGETHER everything is possible.

However, during the conflict in Gaza, the doubt came back. I sent a text message to Odeliah: “The situation is tragic; we must be united to achieve peace.” She answered me right away: “You are right; we must remain united.” This is how we had the idea to have a moment of prayer in the Focolare center. There were 11 of us: Jews, Christians and Muslims. Meeting in such a situation was very strong: everyone listened attentively, and all were able to express what they thought. At the end we had a moment of silence, and we lit candles for the victims on all sides and those who were suffering. We left promising to pray every day and to meet again the following week.
Now that we know each other so much better, many prejudices have disappeared, and we find out that we are all equals and friends. Also, doing something for our society, such as carrying forward common projects, makes us experience that peace is already a reality among us. We are certain that if we young people get started, one day there will be peace
in Jerusalem.

—with Margaret Karram