ICCI brings together mainstream religious leaders in its KEDEM “Voices for Religious Reconciliation” program from Arab (Muslim and Christian) and Jewish communities within Israel to meet one another, develop personal relationships, and engage in interreligious dialogue based on the sharing of personal stories, sacred texts, and views on core issues of the conflict. Together these leaders develop action projects, which mobilize their communities to serve as positive forces for social change.

The KEDEM program seeks to create a growing cadre of local influential religious leaders of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim backgrounds who will transform their communities during the course of a three-year program of interreligious dialogue.  The KEDEM participants will accomplish this by facilitating joint action projects to promote peaceful coexistence in their local communities in Israeli society in general.

ICCI Religious Leadership Programs 2008

KEDEM Holds a Seminar in Memory of Rabbi Eli Kahan, November 2008

"KEDEM: Voices of Religious Reconciliation" is a ICCI's longest lasting program of interreligious dialogue and education comprised of rabbis, imams, kadis, sheikhs and ministers who have been meeting for the past five years in different parts of Israel. A few months ago, one of the leading rabbis of KEDEM, Rabbi Eli Kahan of Kibbutz Ayn HaNatziv, died of cancer, and the KEDEM group decided to hold a special study day in his memory on November 26, at the KonradAdenauer Conference Center at Mishkanot Sha'ananim.

The first session of the seminar included two reflections on the life of Rabbi Kahan by two of the KEDEM rabbis—Rabbi Shmuel Reiner, co-head of Yeshivat Ma'aleh Gilboa, and Rabbi Ronen Lubitz, rabbi of Moshav Nir Etzion. Both rabbis spoke meaningfully and sensitively about the qualities of Rabbi Kahan which were important in advancing interreligious dialogue and greater understanding among Jews and Arabs in Israel. In addition, a text-study session was led by Rabbi David Stav, rabbi of Shoham and one of the leading rabbis of KEDEM, on the story of the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau in the Bible. This text study session engendered a lively discussion on the contemporary meaning of this Biblical story for Jews and Arabs in Israel today.

After a coffee break, a second session featured Arabs who talked about the life of Rabbi Kahan. Rev. Nadeem Chacour of Me'ilyah spoke softly yet eloquently about Rabbi Kahan as a sincere man who engaged genuinely in dialogue and cared deeply about the Other.  He was a man from whom all who engage in dialogue can learn and emulate.   In addition, Kadi Muhammed Zibdi, the kadi of Jerusalem, taught texts from the Koran about the concept of tolerance, which led to a lively discussion and learning session about basic ideas in Islam. 

Religious Leaders from the Galilee meet in Acre, September 2008

Thirty religious leaders from communities all over the Galilee—Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Druze—met on September 22nd at the Palm Beach Hotel in Acre, for the second of three encounters this year on "Interreligious Learning and Cooperation in the Galilee."  Study sessions on Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan were given by Rabbi Benayhu Broner of Tzfat and Dr. Hamza Hamza of Koukab Abu-Hija, and a lively discussion on minority-majority relations was held.  This innovative and ground-breaking series of encounters is co-sponsored by ICCI and the Religious Affairs Division of the Ministry of Interior of the State of Israel.

Leading Members of KEDEM Speak at the Conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ)

Leading members of KEDEM—VOICES OF RELIGIOUS RECONCILIATION—ICCI’s longest-running dialogue and action group—spoke at the ICCJ conference in Jerusalem in June:

• Kadi Muhammed Zibdi, the kadi of Jerusalem, spoke at the opening plenum on the conference theme of “The Contribution of Jewish-Muslim-Christian Dialogue to Peace-Building in the Middle East.”
• Rabbi David Stav, of Shoham, Advocate Adam Abzach, of the Shariyah Courts of Israel, and Mr. Joseph Dyck, Chairperson of the Greek Orthodox community in Jaffa, shared their reflections and experiences in a dynamic and fascinating workshop on the achievements, problems and challenges of the KEDEM experience.
• Rabbi Shmuel Reiner, one of the co-heads of the Ma’aleh Gilboa Yeshivah, in the Gilboa region of Israel, shared the innovative teachers’ guide and curriculum on the narratives of Biram and Gush Etzion, developed by Johnny Montzur and Yigal Aricka (who also spoke) at a special workshop on the theme of empathizing with uprooted people

The course on Judaism for Muslim religious leaders in the Galilee celebrated the conclusion of its second year with an educational outing to Zippori, a site that has many historical echoes both ancient and modern.  First, the imams visited the ancient site and learned about the Oral Law, which was first committed to writing in about 200 CE in Zippori, in the form of the Mishnah.  They then met with Nijam Salim, a former resident of the Arab village of Safuriyeh that existed on the site until 1948, for a discussion of Jewish-Arab relations in the area before and since 1948.  The day concluded with a festive dinner, during which the participants shared impressions from the course and expressed, unanimously, a desire to continue.

Imams in the Galilee Program

The Imams in the Galilee program was featured in the April 30, 2008 edition of Haaretz.

Click here for the article in Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/979310.html.

Click here the article in English: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/979551.html 

 KEDEM- Voices for Religious Reconciliation January Gathering

 On January 3, members of KEDEM met in Shoham for a study session on the Muslim commandment of Haj.  Haj Kadi Mohamad Zibdeh, who had recently returned from Mecca, taught texts from the Koran and shared his spiritual experiences from this sacred Muslim mission with his KEDEM colleagues.

Imams in Galilee meet in December 2007

ICCI's leadership training program for imams in the Galilee met on December 24th at Makom Bagalil, Shorashim, with Rabbi Avi Kadish of Karmiel for their 3rd study session this winter on Prayer in Judaism.  This unique in-service training course--which brings together imams from all over the Galilee for the second year in a row to learn about Judaism--is coordinated for ICCI by Rabbi Marc Rosenstien of Makom Bagalil and Mr. Ziad Halaila of Sachnin, in cooperation with Sheikh Ziad Abu Moch, director of the Muslim Department of the Division for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, and is funded by a grant from the UJA-Federation of New York.

 KEDEM- Voices for Religious Reconciliation December 2007 Gatherings

• Members of the northern group of KEDEM met at the home of Rabbi Shmuel Reiner in MItzpeh Netufah in the Galilee for a study session on "Light," related to the holiday of Hannukah.

• Rabbi Shmuel Reiner, a leading veteran member of KEDEM, took students from the Ma'aleh Gilboa Yeshiva to the Al-Jazar Mosque in Acre, where they heard Imam Samir Assi, the senior imam of the mosque and a member of KEDEM.

• Adv. Adam Azback, a lawyer for the shariya courts of Israel, and Fr. Nadeem Chacour, Greek Catholic priest from the village of Meliya, spoke at the girl's yeshiva of the Kibbutz HaDati movement, at Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv in Beit Shean Valley about basic concepts in Islam and in Christianity.

 Examples of KEDEM Joint Action Projects

Examples of the action projects include a KEDEM media response team which provides immediate media statements in crisis situations, an Institute for Learning and Reconciliation which prepares educational materials for teaching about one anothers’ religions and communities for formal and informal educational programs within the participants’ communities, the teaching of academic courses in the Jewish and Arab sector, family oriented study days, special discussions and interactive dialogues, and social action joint welfare projects.

Each summer the two groups still in their first cycle spend 6 days at a Summer Seminar Abroad in which they learn about how other countries deal with their respective intergroup conflicts (Ireland, Bosnia, Cyprus, Spain, etc.), as well as continue their interreligious learning and plan their joint action projects. This experience has proven to be a climactic event that both summarizes the progress of the individual and group and also provides the group with heightened motivation for the coming year’s activities.

Each December, a well publicized 2 day conference is held which serves both to make a public impact by presenting the work of the groups to the media and the general public.  By hosting an international expert in conflict resolution and providing all KEDEM participants with the opportunity to meet, share ideas, and further their joint efforts, KEDEM has and continues to make a great impact upon the participants' individual communities and Israeli society at large.