Israeli Jews and West Bank Palestinians learn about each other in a series of unique interfaith encounters. ISRAEL21c goes to Hebron to find out more.
For the past 10 years, it has been officially forbidden for Israeli citizens to visit the Palestinian West Bank city of Hebron. And yet, with a considerable investment of effort and time, one man occasionally manages to overcome that prohibition.
Yehuda Stolov believes that the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is ignorance. As founder and executive director of the coexistence organization Interfaith Encounter, his seemingly simple solution is to arrange face-to-face meetings between the two peoples so that they can learn about each other. However, implementation of his idea is no mean feat.
If they want to visit each other in their home towns, Israelis and Palestinians alike must apply for permits from the Israeli military. One solution is to meet in a West Bank town near Jerusalem, where both Israelis and West Bank Palestinians can legally go.
ISRAEL21c accompanied a group of Jewish Israelis from Interfaith Encounter on a visit to their Muslim counterparts in Hebron.
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