Foreword

“Israeli Jews like Christians, but we do not like Christianity; we like Islam, but we don’t like Muslims,” said a guest speaker during my latest Hebrew University course on religious education in the context of conflict. I invited her to describe mainstream Jewish-Israeli perspectives on how Christianity is taught in Israeli curriculums, and my students were shaken. 

At first my students – made up of Jewish-Israelis, Palestinian Muslims and Christians, and other internationals – assumed the greatest challenge in Israeli Jewish education would be the teaching of Islam. But our speaker drew attention to the increasing attacks on Christian clergy, religious edifices, and symbols here in Jerusalem and Israel by religious Jews since the beginning of 2023 (including vandalism, spitting, shouting at pilgrims, denial of access, and religious site takeover). She also highlighted how media coverage became mainstream only once religious Jews attacked Christian Zionist groups, who typically support the political right. To explore the reasons behind these attacks, we turned to Karma Ben Johanan’s book Jacob’s Younger Brother: Christian-Jewish Relations After Vatican II.

In this book, Johanan describes the complex and painful relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, emphasizing the positive changes across Christianity towards the Jewish people, Judaism, and the State of Israel in recent years. In contrast, Johanan traces how Rabbinical Judaism continues to teach Christianity as a pagan, non-monotheistic religion and threat to Jewish identity. Additionally, the authors Ramon, Gabel, and Wasserman of Jesus the Jew, study how Christianity is taught in the Israeli education system. They argue Israeli pedagogy is designed to teach a Zionist narrative that negates the Jewish diaspora by focusing on negative Christian-Jewish relations and encouraging the State as the only safe place for Jews. As a result, Christianity’s deep-rooted relationship to the Land is diminished and Palestinian Christians are erased. 

For this reason, we believe the work of reconciliation - in its biblical foundation as it has been presented to us in 2 Corinthians 5 - calls us to be ambassadors to our neighbors and communities. Under this mandate in our multi-ethnic and multi-religious Land, our vision and programs address attitudes and behaviors among ourselves and within our neighboring communities towards people of other faiths.

- Salim Munayer, PhD and Senior Consultant

Israeli Palestinian Civil Society Update

“During the last few years, I started to explore, one step at a time, the narratives I grew up on, living as a young Jewish girl in the State of Israel. As I got to meet Palestinian individuals, live with them and listen to their stories, I felt how the walls of my consciousness were starting to fall, one after the other. Slowly and gradually, with a lot of hesitation, I started to understand other parts of the story of this land, which until today I wasn't completely aware of.

One of these steps occurred last weekend, in an area that is very close to the place where I live today. We drove 20 minutes from my house in Jerusalem to the city of Bethlehem, a place where I have passed a few times before, crossed the Separation Wall - which I have crossed before, and entered the Walled Off Banksy Museum. There, I felt, again, a small crack starting to form within my walls.

It was a remarkable experience, visiting a museum that displays a Palestinian’s point of view of the Occupation. Furthermore, experiencing it in a mixed Israeli, Palestinian, and international group like ours in Musalaha was extremely unique. The museum expresses the Palestinian struggle, starting from 1917 with the Balfour Declaration to the present day. It combines historical facts and artistic expressions, accompanied by a bold, fine design by Banksy himself. 

I found it fascinating that the museum chose to give space for Israeli anti-occupation activists. In a reality like ours, when governmental forces, army forces, checkpoints, and physical walls are trying to separate us, it's even harder to imagine achieving a better reality for all of us; moreover, it might seem impossible to collaborate to create such a future. Unapologetically, the Banksy Museum succeeds in exposing Israeli and international visitors, like me, to the Palestinian struggle for justice, while showing Palestinian visitors that there are people on the other side of the wall who are willing to work and fight for a different reality.

When we left the museum, I looked back and couldn't believe that this tiny place had hosted all the rooms I've just gone through. That must be how it feels when you go on a journey within your consciousness.”


- Civil Society Jewish-Israeli Participant, Ella

Young Adults Muslim/Christian Update

This month, the Young Adults Muslim Christian Group met for their last workshop of the year to learn about the differences and similarities between Islam and Christianity. One participant said, “It was a very good workshop because I learned a lot about the other religion and their beliefs and ideas.” Another participant commented on the importance of continuing this mutual learning, “We need more workshops like this because we are all interested in this topic and have a lot of questions.” The amount and variety of participants’ questions indicate the value and need for more opportunities to understand the other’s perspective more deeply.

-Yasmin and Emil, Danish Interns

Muslim - Christian Women Update

This month, we discussed identity with the Muslim/Christian women. Each woman was given space to reflect on her identity which she then presented to the group. Some women drew the Palestinian flag, some drew symbols of their religion, or represented themselves as mother, worker, or teacher. We discussed how easily any community can judge our identity, simply by reducing us to our family name or city of origin. These divisions of identity are central to the conflict – most obvious in the access withheld by our Palestinian identity cards. Despite our own differences, we saw our core identity as a representation of Palestinian resilience, and in particular resilience as Palestinian women.

- Hiba Allati, Project Manager

Israeli - Palestinian Women’s Update

“I could never imagine myself with so many Israelis discussing the situation we are going through – we’re both protesting the same thing! I thought we [the Palestinians] were the only ones protesting the Israeli State and Occupation, but they are fighting as well!” - A Palestinian participant 
 
 “At first, my Israeli friends were telling me not to join Musalaha because they are Christians, but I didn’t care - everyone can choose to pursue peace! Now my Israeli friends are so curious to hear what the Palestinian women say and think. And for me - after five weekend meetings - this feels like home.” - An Israeli participant

 - Hedva Haymov, Project Manager

• As we approach the end of summer, we thank God for our partners and their incessant support enabling true transformation in civil society leaders, young adults, women and children. May the rest of the year continue to be blessed with the spirit of friendship, collaboration and a shared resolve for peace and justice. 
• We ask God’s grace for all people finding themselves under military occupation and those who suffer from violence, fueled by demonizing narratives and trauma. May our faith keep us safe and give us hope and determination to improve the treatment of our neighbors in the Land that we share. 
• We pray for our Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Israeli, and Palestinian women as we are facing pivotal chapters in our reconciliation journey. May zero-sum narratives be overcome, friendships nurtured, and power dynamics overturned by learning about settler colonialism, power, and identity.
• Please join us in prayer and appreciation for our Danish Youth Interns, Emil, and Jasmin, as they are preparing to leave after three months of working with Palestinian young adults in Bethlehem. May their interreligious journey of learning and engagement offer guidance in their future choices.