Event Centered on Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue Provides Unique Perspective

The Diocese hosted Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Mr. Noor A’Wad of the organization Roots/Shorashim/Judur for an event called “Two Truths in One Heart, Two Peoples in One Land,” on their American speaking tour last Thursday, February 22, at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston.
 
The organization describes itself as “an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots initiative for understanding, nonviolence and transformation based in Judea & Samaria/the West Bank, and a unique network of local Palestinians and Israelis who have come to see each other as the
partners we both need to make changes to end our conflict. Based on mutual recognition of each People's national identity and connection to the Land, we are challenging the assumptions our communities hold about each other, building trust and creating a new
discourse around the conflict in our respective societies.”
 
Roots operates the only join Israeli-Palestinian community center in the West Bank, where Israeli Jews and Palestinians come together for social, religious, and educational activities, including a youth summer camp, women’s group, and dialogue meetings in times of stability and times of crisis.
 
Members of the Diocese heard Rabbi Schlesinger, a Jewish settler in the West Bank, and Mr. A’Wad, the son of a politically prominent Palestinian family, discuss stories from their own lives and from their organization. While Jews and Palestinians live in close quarters in the West Bank, members of one community can live for decades without a meaningful encounter with the other. Roots provides a space for nurturing cross-cultural and cross-religious relationships. They have shared their message abroad through the American Friends of Roots organization, and they work closely with other agencies in Israel and Palestine to foster peace and understanding. The Rev. Dr. Adam Shoemaker introduced the speakers and reflected briefly on his own Jewish-Christian-Muslim heritage and his recent sabbatical experience in the Middle East. Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley welcomed our guests and remembered her own family’s visit to Roots during their time in the Holy Land last August. Attendees of the event took part in a Q&A session with the speakers, and afterwards a small group joined the speakers for dinner and more conversation.
 
The event was livestreamed and recorded, and it is available to be watched at the following link: https://youtube.com/live/pLIuE1UzwJA. View an album of photos from the event on Facebook at this link. Learn more about this important organization on their website at: www.friendsofroots.net.

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