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Conference: Religious Belief and the Jewish-Arab Conflict

Religion plays a major, and often disturbing, role in defining relations between Jews and Arabs in the state of Israel. This has been demonstrated most recently in the participation of Raid Salah, head of the northern faction of the Islamic movement, in the Turkish flotilla to Gaza, and in the so called rabbis' letter calling Jews not to sell or rent houses to Arabs. While the first was often regarded among Jews as another act of terror, the latter is seen by many Jews and Arabs alike as sheer racism. Extremism, and particularly religious extremism, is inspired and fed by the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, expressed most lately by the relentless struggle of the mostly religious Jewish settlers against any freezing of construction in the West Bank and in Hamas' overtaking of Gaza. Evangelical Christians too are active in preaching a New Israel that is hardly tolerant toward Muslims. Of course, there are also other, milder, voices among believers of all three religions, calling for shared citizenship and interfaith dialogue, though they seem to be few in number and their voices are less frequently heard.

The Jewish-Arab Center at the University of Haifa believes it is highly important and timely to address the issue of the role of religion in the Jewish-Arab relations in Israel at this critical moment, when religious feelings are heightened and the peace process is almost at standstill. The conference will convene both scholars and leaders of the various religious communities to discuss these and related questions: why and to what extent is religion an impediment to tolerance and peace in our region, how to raise the voices of religious trends that work for conciliation between Jews and Arabs, and how to avoid further drift to manifestations of intolerance and hatred toward the other.

Goals – This conference aims to map out the various religious forces in Israel and analyze their attitudes toward the questions of citizenship and peace. It will also bring together Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious and secular leaders to debate possible ways to allow religion a more constructive role in bridging the gaps among the various faiths and in bringing peace between the two peoples.

 

 

 

 

אתר זה נבנה על ידי רוני רשף
סטודנטית להיסטוריה של המזרח התיכון 
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