Published: 6 June 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
On May 30, some 100 religious leaders and community organisers gathered at the community centre in Rahat, the largest Bedouin city in southern Israel, for “the Iftar of Mediation”. The event celebrated the establishment of a new community mediation centre in town, one of 44 nationwide.
“It’s about religious communities coming together, but also about bringing together people involved in the daily practice of mediation,” said Rabbi Daniel Roth, director of Mosaica – the Religious Peace Initiative, a Jerusalem non-profit aimed at recruiting Jewish and Muslim religious leaders to the cause of peace.
“Many of the Jewish guests here come from towns in the south like Sderot, Arad or Beersheba,” added Roth, who organised the event. “These are all communities affected by the rocket fire from Gaza a few weeks ago. These are people volunteering to strengthen their communities.”
Over 20 local mediators form the new Rahat mediation team, including eight male sheikhs and a number of female religious leaders as well. The centre incorporates traditional Bedouin tribal mediation with modern best practice.
The event began at the local Al-Nour Mosque, where its imam Jamal al-Obra and Sheikh Ghassan Manasrah of Nazareth explained basic concepts of Ramadan to the Jewish guests, standing barefoot on the plush carpet.
As the sun began to set and the muezzin sounded the call for evening prayers, the crowd moved to the community centre where they listened to short religious sermons by Jewish and Muslim clerics. On the tables they found source sheets, in Hebrew and Arabic, discussing the concept of greeting the other from Jewish and Muslim perspectives.
A source from the Babylonian Talmud tells of Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai, leader of the Jewish community during the destruction of the Second Temple, who always hurried to greet others, “even a non-Jew in the market.” Similarly, a source from the Hadith of Bukhari, a collection of trusted Islamic oral traditions, tells of Abdullah bin Omar, son of the second Caliph to succeed the Prophet Muhammad, who while walking through the market “would not pass by a vendor, a merchant or a poor man without greeting them.”
“Those wishing to see the face of God must see the face of the other,” said Rabbi Re’em Hacohen, head of the Otniel Yeshiva in the South Hebron hills, in a speech recalling the story of Jacob and his brother Essau. “I’m glad I have the opportunity to see my dear neighbours face to face.”
At promptly 7.47pm, Sheik al-Obra sounded the call to prayer on stage, as the crowd helped itself to a meal of cooked salads and grilled meat.
Eliyahu McLean, another of the event’s organisers, said he was excited to come to Rahat after organising similar Iftars in Jerusalem for 14 years. The tour guide and religious organizer, now living in Moshav Yoshivia near the southern city of Netivot, said the Negev region in southern Israel has long been overlooked for interreligious activists.
“I wanted to make sure we include interfaith dialogue and bridgebuilding work with the Bedouins and come together -- as Jews and Muslims -- here in the south,” McLean said.
“During the recent Gaza flare-up, I myself ran to the shelter with a newborn baby in my hands,” he recalled. “In the aftermath of that, and with the upcoming elections, tensions between Arabs and Jews are at a high. I think we need to assert, again, that we live together in the state of Israel. The citizens living here want to integrate in the state of Israel and be part of its life.”
The local residents of Rahat at the feast were clearly touched by the Jewish overture.
“Over the course of Ramadan, we organised ‘Ramadan nights’ and hosted Jewish groups here,” said Fouad Zayadnah, manager of the Rahat Community Centre. About 2,500 people came to Rahat during this month alone. It only adds to the prestige of our city.”
Youssef al-Zayed, a Rahat resident, said he was especially moved by the Jewish rabbis coming to experience the last moments of fast with their Muslim neighbours. “They came to break the fast with us, to experience our customs, to see how we welcome guests,” al-Zayed said. “It was a hugely successful event.”
Photo: Rabbi Yaakov Nagen of the Otniel Yeshiva speaks to Sheikh Jamal al-Obra at the Iftar dinner in Rahat (Elhanan Miller)
