{"id":37081,"date":"2021-06-25T01:54:45","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T08:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=37081"},"modified":"2021-06-25T00:28:41","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T07:28:41","slug":"having-the-hard-discussions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/06\/25\/having-the-hard-discussions\/","title":{"rendered":"Having the hard discussions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, above, and Noor A\u2019wad of Roots Palestinian-Israeli Network were the featured speakers at Vancouver School of Theology\u2019s Two Truths in One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land event May 27. (photo from friendsofroots.net<\/a>)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Two Truths in One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land, a discussion on the Roots Palestinian-Israeli Network, with speakers Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Noor A\u2019wad, took place on May 27 as part of the Religion and Thoughtful Activism conference organized by the Vancouver School of Theology (VST).<\/p>\n

Formed in 2014 by peace activist Ali Abu Awwad and Schlesinger, Roots is a group based in the Gush Etzion settlements of the West Bank that believes the path towards peace between Palestinians and Israelis is through dialogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the West Bank, Jews and Arabs live completely separately with no connections at all,\u201d said Schlesinger, an Orthodox rabbi, passionate Zionist settler and director of international relations for Roots. Everything, he explained \u2013 from legal systems to health systems, transportation to universities \u2013 is separate. The separation is so complete that Palestinians are forbidden from entering Israeli areas and vice versa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to say that there is no common ground between Jews and Palestinians, I would not be exaggerating, and I would not be speaking metaphorically. There is literally no common ground as far as geography goes. If there had been a place for a crazy Israeli Jew and a Palestinian who wanted to meet for coffee, there would have been no place to do it,\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n

At least, this was the case, he said, until seven years ago, when Roots was formed and when the Dignity Centre, a community centre where the two sides can meet with equality and mutual recognition, was created.<\/p>\n

Schlesinger spoke of the great apprehension and trepidation each side has in coming together at such a place. Yet, often, at the end of an event at the centre, people come to Schlesinger, saying how wonderful the simple experience of conversing with a member of the other side is.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are amazed to discover that \u2018the other\u2019 is a lot like us. It\u2019s hard to fathom after all the stereotypes and all we on both sides have been taught,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He likened the animosity each side has to a disease he called \u201cthe hubris of exclusivity,\u201d which infects people with a \u201cvirus\u201d that makes them believe that their people are the only legitimate people in the region.<\/p>\n

Charting his own journey, Schlesinger recounted that, during his first encounters with Palestinians, he began learning that there were not one but two stories in the land where he lives. \u201cFor 33 years, I lived in my story and the Palestinians didn\u2019t exist. They were part of the grey drab scenery that passes in the background of a movie but not part of the plot,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

He spoke of his initial distrust of Palestinians and his profound reluctance to meet them \u2013 a distrust and reluctance shared by his Palestinian interlocutors during their first meetings. Implicit, too, in the unwillingness to meet was the fear that each side had of the other, Schlesinger said.<\/p>\n

Noor A\u2019wad, a licensed Palestinian tour guide based in Bethlehem, where he takes English speakers on geopolitical tours, spoke of his family\u2019s long history in the land.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Noor A\u2019wad of Roots Palestinian-Israeli Network (photo from friendsofroots.net<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI remember growing up during the Second Intifada \u2013 some of my family members were killed, others arrested \u2013 realizing that this is not a normal life and asking myself why am I living this abnormal life under occupation? The simple answer to the question is, because I am a Palestinian,\u201d A\u2019wad said.<\/p>\n

He considered leaving the area, but that urge was outweighed by a sense of responsibility and a sense that there was no other option but to stay in order to best serve his people. Ultimately, he came to learn about nonviolent solutions to conflict.<\/p>\n

A\u2019wad described his change of heart upon getting involved with Roots: \u201cWhen Rabbi Hanan spoke about his identity as a Jew and a settler, these are very loaded words and terminology that is connected to the conflict. For him, I was able to see how beautiful this terminology is because it is part of his identity.<\/p>\n

For me, the same terminology is connected to the suffering my people have.\u201d<\/p>\n

For A\u2019wad, as with Schlesinger, the acts of sitting and listening to the other were enormously challenging. Nonetheless, each persevered and, in the process, they discovered a partner in dialogue and perhaps the most effective way of understanding the humanity of the other \u2013 finding mutual empathy and thereby creating a means to achieve peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I discovered in Roots is the foundation for any peace process,\u201d said A\u2019wad.<\/p>\n

The event was organized by Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, VST\u2019s director of inter-religious studies. \u201cOur students \u2013 most but not all are Christian \u2013 are very interested in news about Israel and Palestine. They see Israel as their beloved Holy Land. So, we wanted to introduce them to\u00a0one of the many NGOs there doing collaborative peace-building work,\u201d she told the Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a supporter of Roots for some years now. Rabbi Schlesinger is a colleague and friend from Clal\u2019s Rabbis Without Borders fellowship program. Still, this event would not have happened without the help of Quebec psychotherapist Colleen MacDougall, another Roots supporter,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

For more information on Roots, visit friendsofroots.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sam Margolis<\/strong> has written for the <\/em>Globe and Mail, the <\/em>National Post, UPI and MSNBC.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, above, and Noor A\u2019wad of Roots Palestinian-Israeli Network were the featured speakers at Vancouver School of Theology\u2019s Two Truths in One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land event May 27. (photo from friendsofroots.net) Two Truths in One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land, a discussion on the Roots Palestinian-Israeli Network, with speakers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4329,4],"tags":[1808,7173,1673,23,20661,2721,7015,5660],"class_list":["post-37081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel","category-local","tag-dialogue","tag-hanan-schlesinger","tag-israeli-palestinian-conflict","tag-laura-duhan-kaplan","tag-noor-awad","tag-peace","tag-vancouver-school-of-theology","tag-vst"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}