THE JERUSALEM POST: A coalition of non-governmental organizations and educators hope to improve Muslim-Jewish coexistence in Israel by teaching Islam to Jews and Judaism to Muslims in the nation's public schools.
"We believe that if there will be more knowledge about Islam among Jews and if Israeli Muslims know more about Judaism this would have a positive effect on social relations," said Rabbi Ron Kronish, head of the Interreligious Coordination Council (ICCI).
"There is a high level of ignorance on both sides which leads to mutual suspicion and stereotyping."
Relations between Israeli Arabs and Jews have deteriorated over the past eight years, particularly after 13 Arabs were killed in what has become known as the October riots of 2000, in support of the second Palestinian intifada.
Acre, one of the few cities in which Jews and Arabs live together, was the most recent flashpoint of violence. Arabs and Jews clashed in the streets after an Arab inadvertently drove his car into a Jewish neighborhood on Yom Kippur.
On Monday in Jerusalem's Mishkanot Sha'ananim neighborhood, a special symposium entitled "Teaching Islam to Jews and Judaism to Muslims in Israel" will be hosted by ICCI together with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung foundation in Israel, al-Qasemi College in Baka al-Gharbiya and the Nemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University.
The symposium marks the launching of an effort to encourage a deeper understanding of religious differences and similarities. >>> By Matthew Wagner | November 19, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
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