Interreligious Music Event in Tel Aviv Video with Narration and Message from Sheikh Ghassan Manasra

Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, AR International Director, shares about the AR’s event September 7th, hosted at Neve Shechter with Rabbi Roberto Arbib by the Abrahamic Reunion.

 The event was especially touching, with many in the audience shedding tears, to open their hearts again to hope and believe in and work for peace amidst the recent waves of violence, political protests, and the climate fostered by the current extreme right-wing government. 

Speakers included:

 * AR Amutah Director Siham Halabi

 * Rabbi Sigalit Ur, Hartman Institute Fellow

 * Anat Lev Or

 * Professor Avraham Elqayam, Bar Ilan University

 * Professor Oded Maimon

 * Rabbi Roberto Arbib

 * Sheikh Ghassan Manasra

Rabbi Roberto’s synagogue welcomed inside over 100 Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Druze, who had come from Tel Aviv, nearby, and two busses of people came from the North (Daliat al Carmel, Haifa, Nazareth) and Jerusalem, both East and West. 

Sheikh Ghassan mentioned how important and touching it was for orthodox Jews from West Jerusalem, and religious Muslims from East Jerusalem, to share the hour-long busride together, a feeling of denouement after so much tension, distrust, and rhetoric on all sides. 

Thousands of people felt left out of the event! They called Ghassan and AR members afterwards, after hearing about the beautiful coming together that was created, the sharing of musical traditions, and the friendships made. 

The event was not announced by public invitation, due to concerns for safety in the current climate, but we hope they will all attend future AR events, and continue in the work of building a Holy Land and world the honors the beautiful gifts of the many peoples and religions of planet Earth. 

They will have an opportunity — a major public event is being planned, later in September, in conjunction with Hartman Institute and numerous other organizations, congregations, and allies, which we will be looking forward to sharing with you in the coming weeks.

Rabbi Sigalit Ur

Professor Avi Elqayam

Siham Halabi

The Band

Welcome! Anat Lev Or welcomes Druze peacebuilders

News travels fast!! Thanks to the oral networks in Jewish and Arab culture in the Holy Land, the event was widely known very quickly.

AR Amutah Assistant Roie Kleitman (L) attended, helping organize the bus of people coming from Jerusalem.

Those all too rare moments of joy and hope these days