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Dr. Yehuda Stolov is executive director of the Jerusalem-based Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA).
In this article I intend to discuss ways of overcoming Arab anti-Semitism and Israeli Arab-phobia and Islamophobia. I believe that my comments are relevant for a large variety of conflict contexts. My experience and knowledge come from the Middle East, from the Holy Land, and I will focus on this part of the world.
The nature of this experience leads to a second point. This article is based on many years of practical experience in using the approach it portrays, in active work for the building of human peace (between human beings and not just leaderships and politicians) in the Holy Land and the Middle East through interactive interfaith dialogue, mainly in the framework of the Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA) (www.interfaith-encounter.org). The ideas in it were not developed in an abstract way, as theoretical concepts, but as an ideological infrastructure for action. They have supplied the basis for IEA activities and are constantly going through intensive field testing in hundreds of events with thousands of people. The ideas are supported by concrete successes on the ground.
The third point of introduction is also derived from the nature of my experience. Prejudices and fears, mistrust and even hatred exist between Jews and Arabs, or as we prefer to look at them: between Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze. Yet regardless of other factors that are probably very important when analyzing these phenomena, the main factor that makes it possible for these negative attitudes to prevail is ignorance -- both in the sense of knowing very little, if at all, about the "other" and in the sense of ignoring the "other." Consequently, getting to know each other in a deep and positive manner is the way to prevent the possibility of these phenomena. My main focus -- in my work, in my life and in this article -- is on how this can be done in a most effective way, through interactive interfaith encounter.
Finally, an introductory word about religion: the human desire for better connection with the Divine (or whatever one chooses to call this super-reality, which is beyond words anyway) and for meaning in and of life is a very powerful force. The...