We Don’t Have to Agree

by Nomi Teutsch

This Sunday night I observed a room full with over 40 Jewish students from around the world who chose to use their evening to learn about how  participating in dialogue has shaped the lives of three alumni of ICCI’s Youth and Young Adult programs. The students were in the middle of a 4-month period of intensive learning about Israel, Zionism and the conflict at the “Institute for Youth Leaders From Abroad” and they were extremely interested in what our panelists had to say about their experiences.

“أحب لصديقك ما تحب لنفسك”

بقلم: الدكتور رون كرونش

ان جملة الافتتاح في (سفر القديسين)، والتي قرأناها قبل عدة سبوت في الكنس في جميع انحاء اسرائيل، والتي تبدأ بالكلمات “كونوا قديسين“، توضح في سياقها كيف يمكننا أن نكون قديسين (اللاويين 19). فبدون شك فان هذه الجملة هي من أهم الجمل في التوراة، وهي التي وجهتني كممثل لمجلس التنسيق بين الأديان كي أنشر بالاشتراك مع قسم الديانات التابع لجمعية سكروبو في تورونتو، نشرة “أحب لصديقك ما تحب لنفسك“، وهذا الموضوع يظهر ليس عند أقل من 12 ديانة في العالم.

We “Kickstart Peace” in France!

Our Abu-Ghosh – Kiryat Yearim Kickstart Peace Soccer ball Team spent 6 days in France in the end of April following an Invitation received by French Students, who also hosted them in their houses and treated them as their own. The team attended several events with local youth and were met with warmness and hospitality by municipal officers in every city they visited.

Tikun Olam

“How do you say Tikun Olam in Hebrew?” is the circulating joke about this meaningful concept in Judaism. But it’s no joke at all. How Tikun Olam manifests in the three monotheistic religions was the subject of a panel lead by ICCI Director Ron Kronish and representatives of the three religions on the 1st of May. Evidence brought out at the panel showed that the act of grace and kindness towards the needy is an “international interreligious commandment” as the representative of Islam concluded. However, in a complex reality where interreligious interaction and tolerance is scarce,  the values of our  scriptures sometimes remain unfulfilled.

וְאָהַבְתָּ את הגר

מאת ד”ר רון קרוניש

פיסקת הפתיחה של ‘פרשת קדושים’, אותה קראנו לפני מספר שבתות בבתי הכנסת ברחבי הארץ, מתחילה במלים “קדושים תהיו”, ומפרטת בהמשך כיצד עלינו להיות קדושים’ (ויקרא י”ט).זו ללא ספק אחת הפסקאות החשובות ביותר בתורה, והיא אשר הנחתה אותי כמייצג את

Dr. Ron Kronish

המועצה הבין-דתית המתאמת בישראל לפרסם בשיתוף עם המחלקה הבין-דתית של עמותת סקרובו בטורונטו כרזה בנושא ‘ואהבת לרֵעֲךָ כמוך’, נושא המופיע בלא פחות מ12 דתות בעולם.

פסוקים אלו (ויקרא י”ט: 18-19) מחייבים אותנו לשאול את השאלה, איך מגדירים את ‘רֵעֲךָ’? קיימת ספרות רבה ומרובה העוסקת בהגדרות שונות. ההגדרה שמתאימה לקונטקסט של התורה מגדירה את ‘רעך’ כמי ששייך לעם היהודי, כאשר בפיסקה “אָחִיךָ”, “עֲמִיתֶךָ” ו”רֵעֲךָ” מקבילים ל”בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ”, כלומר העם היהודי. כיום משתמשים במושג “רֵעֲךָ” בשפה העברית כדי לתאר חבר קרוב מאוד, ואפילו לפעמים בן זוג, לעומת השפה האנגלית, בה היא מתורגמת ל’שכן’. עולה אם כן השאלה, מיהם שכנינו או חברינו הקרובים היום? האם הם רק אלה השייכים לעם היהודי, או שמא ניתן להרחיב את משמעותה של המילה להכיל את כל בני האדם בארצינו או בעולם הגלובלי כולו?  האם זאת בקשה מוגזמת?

“Resisting Racism and Keeping the Light of Hope Alive”

By Rabbi Ron Kronish

“Earlier this week, I was invited to attend a meeting of the Committee on Education of the Knesset (parliament) by leaders of a coalition which I am part of

Dr. Ron Kronish

called Tag Meir, Hebrew for “Light Tag,” or perhaps better translated as “A Sign of Light.” The group combats hate crimes that have become endemic in certain quarters in Israel during the last year and a half. We began at Hanukkah to react to each violent act of Jewish ultra-nationalists who desecrate churches and mosques and attack innocent peace activists, who go under the name Tag Mechir, Hebrew for “Price Tag.” Our idea was to light a beacon of peace and reconciliation to show the sane face of the moderate mainstream of Judaism in Israel.

From Socializing to Social Media

by Nomi Teutsch

Members of the group at the protest tent in Beit Safafa Februar

Also in: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/from-socializing-to-social-media/

Some time ago, a group of Palestinian and Jewish alumnae of ICCI’s women’s dialogue groups from past years came together to take the leap from words to deeds. This can be an incredibly tricky step to take, as united action requires agreement on both a message and a strategy.

I began working with the group this October (2012), examining topics that were meaningful to the group in order to find the right project for us to take on. As we were in the midst of discussing and exploring, something shocking happened…