Season of Light moments for Palestinians, Israelis: Muslims, Christians, & Jews

20 December 2012

Do you see what I see?

 A star, a star

 Dancing in the night

 With a tail as big as a kite

 With a tail as big as a kite.

 Do you hear what I hear?

 A song, a song

 High above the tree

 With a voice as big as the sea

 With a voice as big as the sea.

        from "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

        Noel Regney (lyrics) and Gloria Shayne (music)

        Released after Thanksgiving, 1962

LIGHT
in California, USA
This December 2012, a 20-year-old Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group added meaning to a 50-year-old song written to transcend war.
     Persisting and casting light like a dependable night star, the Dialogue's opening candle lighting ceremony was by nine Palestinian-Jewish pairs.  
Open microphones freely gave voices to many Muslim, Christian, and Jewish women and men elders and youth -- stars that night.
     The large, public Season of Light Evening is illustrated at http://traubman.igc.org/light2012.htm
     The San Francisco coming-together featured the premiere screening of a new 48-minute documentary film of step-by-step change over time, over seas:

20 Years of Palestinian-Jewish Living Room Dialogue  (1992-2012)

http://archive.org/details/20YearsOfPalestinian-jewishLivingRoomDialogue

MOROCCANS GET, GIVE LIGHT
in Jerusalem and Ramallah
During Summer 2012 a courageous group of 16 young Moroccan Muslims travelled to the West Bank and to Jerusalem to attend the annual Tomorrow Conference.
     They were the first group of Arab-nation students travelling throughout Israel to explore their own national life and history.

     The young scholars are part of Mimouna Clubs on campuses across Morocco.
     Their commitment to study the Hebrew language and Jewish culture is their way of deepening in their own Moroccan identity -- their history, their story.

     As Arabs and Muslims they they also have a deep commitment to helping to achieve peace and fairness for the Palestinian people.
     In Ramallah they met with senior officials of the Palestinian foreign ministry who encouraged them to chart a role for Moroccan young people in helping to build a bridge of trust and mutual acceptance between Israelis and Palestinians.

     The young Moroccans met with Palestinian physicians studying in Israel to advance medical practice on the West Bank, and with Palestinian doctors at Kibbutz Tzora.
     They listened to Palestinian-Israelis who experience discrimination in seeking jobs and professional opportunities in Israel.

     These "barrier-breakers" remember the 1300+ years of Muslim-Jewish convivencia (living together) in Morocco, whose memory and model can become a vital force in helping to overcome the human disengagement and endless violence of day-to-day reality in the Holy Land.
     This summer these students saw first-hand the power of opening oneself to the other and in so doing beginning the process of humanizing everyone.
READ MORE:

Morocco comes to Israel

The Times of Israel -- December 15, 2012, 5:47 pm

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/morocco-comes-to-israel/

LIGHTING A SHARED PATH
in Pennsylvania, USA
Muslims & Christians United - http://muslimschristiansunited.blogspot.com - has met once a month for two years in devotion to increased interfaith understanding.
     They were birthed by members of Wesley United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church, and the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

     Now at 50 dependable, core participants, engagement has moved from two churches and one mosque to include all four mosques and numerous Christian congregations.
They shine light on how-to skills for citizen-led endeavors of very diverse neighbors -- women and men -- moving step-by-step to build bridges and true community.

DOWNLOAD their color brochure of 2012-2013 public events at https://dl.dropbox.com/u/20014206/Muslims%20and%20Christians%20United%20brochure%20revised.pdf
WRITE for more information to MuslimsAndChristiansUnited@gmail.com
WATCH and LISTEN to get practical ideas:

Muslims and Christians United

14 min video - 06 November 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oARJXqQYL00

JEWS, MUSLIMS LIGHTEN HUNGER
in Colorado, USA
     Jews and Muslims were in a sticky situation Sunday at the Northeast Denver Islamic Center - Northeast Denver Islamic Center.
     They were up to their elbows in peanut butter and jelly as they made roughly 1,000 sandwiches to hand out to people on the streets.

     "Feel at home," Imam Abdur-Rahim Ali told his 50 or so guests. "This is a wonderful thing."
     The newly formed crew immediately settled into their sandwich production and happy chatter.
     They didn't discuss the violence, tension and deaths in Israel and Gaza.

     "We're not here to talk about that.
     We're here to build relationships that will let us talk about things like that," said Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav of Wisdom House Denver, a center for multifaith engagement.
     "I don't think God wants us to be killing each other," he said.
     "I think he wants us to be feeding each other."
SEE THEIR FACES:

Muslims, Jews gather at Denver mosque to help feed the hungry

The Denver Post - 19 November 2012

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22022696/muslims-jews-gather-at-denver-mosque-help-feed

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These and hundreds of other success stories are preserved at http://traubman.igc.org/messages.htm