Hundreds of Moslems, Christians and Jews gathered at 13 locations around Israel on July 15 to break their mutual fast day together.
The events were part of a global movement of interfaith break-fasts for Ramadan and the Jewish fast day of the 17th of Tammuz. The group ‘Choose Life’ organized efforts around the joint fast day as a “Hunger Strike Against Violence,” and publicized events in six countries across three continents, from New York to Paris to Kuwait City.
“The new generation needs to carry the message of how we can live together, because we are not born with signs over our heads that say we are Jewish, Moslem, Christian, or Buddhist. We are all one,” said Haj Ibrahim Abu El Hawa, co-founder of Jerusalem Peacemakers.
At the Jerusalem Inter Cultural Center event, Rabbi Yonathan Neril, founder and director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, said: “This gathering empowers the children of Abraham– Jews, Moslems, and Christians– to come together in the holy city of Jerusalem and see the humanity in the ‘other’. It’s not about us versus them. It’s about us and them, about how we can live together in one land.”
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