JERUSALEM โ On Monday evening, an eclectic group spanning diverse backgrounds, cultures, and communities gathered in Jerusalem. The event, a dinner held at the Dan Family Aish World Center across the Western Wall Plaza from the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque, included eight Muslim religious and community leaders from the United States visiting Israel through a Sharaka delegation, several Israelis from both religious and secular backgrounds, and 15 delegates and alternate delegates from the AISH Haโam Party who were in Israel from the U.S. for the upcoming World Zionist Congress, which begins on Tuesday.
The evening featured an intimate two-hour dinner and discussion between participants, culminating in a moderated conversation between Rabbi Daniel Rowe, who serves as Aish Educational Visionary and President of AISH U, and Sheikh Musa Drammeh, a Sharaka participant and the President of the Muslim-Israel Dialogue, an organization focused on interfaith cooperation and dialogue to promote peace and understanding between Muslim and Jewish communities.
The discussion, moderated by Alyssa Annis, Holocaust Education Program Manager for Sharaka, focused on how leaders in their respective communities can look to the past and draw inspiration from their faith traditions to build bridges and reduce hatred.
Sheikh Musa said during the conversation:
โHamas has hijacked the Muslim narrative, and Muslims around the world believe that the only options in the Middle East consist of either supporting Israel or Hamas. This is a corruption of the narrative. Everyone hears so much about Gaza, but almost no one hears about the two million Muslim Israelis who are happy here and proud to call themselves Israeli. We need to take back the narrative and show that Islam doesnโt have to hate Judaism or Israel. This is relatively new. Throughout history, Muslims have not typically hated Jews. We need to get back to that, and it is possible.โ
Rabbi Rowe added:
โIn the short term, it often appears that evil will win, but in the long term, we see that good triumphs over evil. We need to have faith in one another and continue to put good into the world. We may not see its impact immediately, but in the end, all of the good that we put into the world will have a major impact and change the trajectory of human interaction.โ
Conversations throughout the evening centered on Abraham as a model not only for peace and positive change but also for personal responsibility in making that change happen.
Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO of AISH and head of the AISH Haโam delegation to the World Zionist Congress, welcomed the crowd by saying:
โAbraham was the first person to take responsibility for other peopleโs well-being. He fought with God to save the lives of sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah, and by doing so, built a legacy that would change the world through his descendants. That is what we have here today, Abrahamโs descendants coming together to make the world a better place through wisdom, love, and responsibility.โ
Noam Meirov, Managing Director of Sharaka, said:
โThe work we do at Sharaka is about building partnerships, true to our name. At our recent gathering at AISH, we were honored to meet with inspiring religious and Jewish leaders from around the world who share our commitment to truth, mutual respect, and understanding. Together, we are deepening interfaith dialogue, advancing Holocaust education as a tool to counter hatred and extremism, and amplifying a message of hope, unity, and peace for all. We are thankful to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany for allowing us to bring these delegations.โ
Aicha Cisse, a Bronx resident, passionate advocate for social justice and equality, and member of the Muslim African Advisory Council and Vice Chair of New Yorkโs African Advisory Council, also attended the event. โThis has been my first trip to Israel, and it is eye-opening to see how amazing a country this is,โ she said. โIn New York, things have gotten very bad, and it has even become okay to steal or murder people in the streets. We need to reclaim our moral clarity on several issues, and I think by having these dialogues with like-minded believers of any faith, we can find common ground and begin to heal ourselves, our communities, and each other.โ
Jewish philanthropist and AISH Haโam delegate to the World Zionist Congress, Bari Erber, also from New York City, added:
โThis was a very moving and eye-opening event. I met people from my own city with incredibly different backgrounds but surprisingly similar viewpoints. We were able to connect on the issues that align us, rather than focusing only on what divides us, which is what many politicians and media outlets do. By focusing on the common denominator, we can eliminate hate in our communities and build more tolerant cultures for the betterment of all of our futures.โ
The event was viewed as a resounding success by its organizers.
Raphael Poch of AISH concluded:
โWe came together tonight to have a conversation among like-minded believers from different communities, Jewish and Muslim alike, to see if there is hope for a future without hate. The resounding response from everyone in the room was a definite yes. It will take work and time, but the sentiment of the attendees tonight was that it is certainly possible. As Sheikh Musa said, โWe need to be brave, and we need to be bold, but we can get there.โโ
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