When we at Mishkan come across unusual and meaningful opportunities to learn and talk about Israel, we find that our community wants to take part.
It’s for this reason that we’re inviting you to join me, and Mishkan, for a special opportunity to meet influential Palestinian civil society leaders in conversation with eight Jewish thought-leaders from now until January.
On the heels of an American election revealing the deep ideological divisions inside of our own society, I am reminded of the bravery and courage it takes to engage with “the other,” to hear your own perspective reflected (and probably challenged) by hearing someone else’s perspective of the same place, informed by their very different lived experience. I had the privilege of meeting several of the speakers featured in this series while traveling in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as part of a leadership cohort with Encounter, an organization committed to transforming Jewish communal engagement with the Israeli Palestinian conflict in both America and Israel. It was powerful.
The more we know about one another through our own stories and experiences – not through headlines, Twitter feeds, and the most extreme viewpoints – the more able we are to understand and to be understood. Jews and Palestinians are destined to share the same land that we all love. My hope is that we as a Mishkan community can transcend the usual binaries of pro and anti Israel, pro and anti Palestine, and listen to the voices of people sharing their lives.
Please join Encounter, Mishkan, and so many thoughtful, engaged leaders in a series of conversations online. You can click here for more details and registration links.
This difficult conversation is happening in all corners of the world, and we’re so proud of you, our community, for bringing your voices to it — when we are powered by courage, there is hope for change.
Rabbi Lizzi