Interfaith Encounter Amid the War

Jewish-Arab Interfaith Encounters 

The Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA) is committed to fostering grassroots peacebuilding by creating and sustaining interfaith dialogue groups across the Holy Land and beyond through joint grassroots community building, using interactive interfaith dialogue as its vehicle. Since its inception in 2001, IEA has established 35 active groups in the region, welcoming participants from diverse religious, cultural, and political backgrounds. 

The October 7th events and the ensuing war made it nearly impossible to organize meetings involving participants from the Palestinian territories. In response, IEA shifted its focus to interfaith encounters within Israel, ensuring that dialogue and connection continued despite the challenging circumstances.  

The IEA Model: Resilience Amid Crisis 

Since its inception, IEA has engaged thousands of Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Druze in interfaith dialogues. These sessions, held in spaces like churches and cultural centers, are led by trained volunteers from the participants’ own communities, ensuring the initiatives remain locally grounded and accessible.  Through carefully designed, theme-based encounters, participants explore shared topics such as religious practices, cultural heritage, and personal values, deliberately avoiding divisive political discussions. This approach fosters mutual trust, understanding, and a sense of community.   

The ongoing conflict has presented unique challenges, yet IEA’s activities not only persisted but adapted to the crisis. Some groups increased the frequency of their meetings, while others organized mutual support efforts alongside regular dialogues. Long-established groups, in particular, relied on deep bonds of friendship to navigate difficult conversations with compassion and care. Coordinators and staff worked diligently to provide safe spaces where participants could process emotions and find connection during this turbulent time.   

Women’s Language Exchange is a one of the projects organized during the war. This initiative brings together women to practice Hebrew and Arabic in informal conversations, enabling them to learn from and about one another. There are six such groups for women across the country. The one in Arad-Tel Arad mobilized to support Bedouin communities following the attacks on October 7th.

Debate for Peace: Youth Working Group 

 The Debate for Peace (DfP) IEA program connects Arab and Jewish youth (ages 13-19) from more than 100 towns in Israel and the Palestinian territories to debate global conflicts, negotiate solutions, and build connections. Through Model UN conferences, leadership summits, and workshops, participants gain skills in negotiation, civil discourse, and conflict resolution while fostering friendships across cultural and political divides. 

This year, on October 28, Petah Tikvah hosted the inaugural meeting of the Youth Working Group on Social Cohesion, bringing students from 15 Jewish and Arab communities to discuss identity, stereotypes, religion, society, and social media. The initiative empowered youth to tackle challenging topics with openness and respect.