Interreligious Meeting of Israelis to Learn Lessons from Cyprus Conflict

July 12, 2005

Source: The Jerusalem Post

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121135428857&p=1078027574097

On July 12, 2005 The Jerusalem Post reported, "Leaders from Israel's three major religions met in Cyprus for a week-long conference in an attempt to create better understanding by learning lessons from other areas with an ethnic or religious conflict. The conference in Cyprus was the third for the group, Kedem, a Hebrew acronym for Voice for Religious Reconciliation. Started three years ago in an effort to bring religious leaders in Israel together in dialogue at the grassroots level, the group now includes 14 Jews, 11 Moslems, and three Christians, all of them Israeli citizens. 'What we're trying to do is to learn what the role is of religious leaders in promoting better understanding of other religions in their own communities and between other communities,' said Dr. Ron Kronish, director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel and a participant at the Cyprus meeting. 'We hope this understanding will then lead to more interaction between the communities. This group is not here to solve the macro-resolution of the conflict. We are here trying to better educate ourselves and those around us to try to continue living with each other, even amid the conflict.'"