MONTREAL — The founder of a three-way interfaith dialogue group in Israel remains hopeful that peace is attainable in Middle East and that ordinary Jews, Muslims and Christians can live in harmony.
Rabbi Ron Kronish, director of the Jerusalem-based Interreligious Co-ordinating Council in Israel, founded the group in 1991 when the peace process was entering an era of unprecedented exuberance.
Despite its failure and the years of violence that followed, Rabbi Kronish remains optimistic that better times are ahead and that the adherents of the three great monotheistic religions can set an example for politicians.
The council has continued to meet and carry on its activities throughout the renewed conflict, he noted.
Rabbi Kronish was the guest speaker at a meeting in Ottawa of Canadian Christian-Jewish Consultation, which brings together representatives of the Canadian Council of Churches, the Conference of Catholic Bishops and Canadian Jewish Congress, before coming to Montreal to deliver a lecture at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom.
His main message was that, contrary to the image most North Americans have, Jews, Arabs and others in Israel do talk to one another in a reasonable way.
“People here, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, have no idea this goes on. They just think everybody is hating and kill each other,” he said in an interview.
He disagrees with the naysayers in Israel who contend that interreligious talk can wait until the conflict resolved.
Interfaith dialogue in Israel is less about theological discussions, as it tends to be in the West, than it is about practical solutions to everyday living.
As an indication of its commitment, the council was officially founded on Jan. 16, 1991, the day the first Persian Gulf War began. The founders huddled with gas masks at a Catholic centre in the heart of Jerusalem to declare their solidarity, Rabbi Kronish recalled.
The Miami-born Rabbi Kronish, who is Reform, has lived in Israel for almost 30 years and was director of the Israel office of the American Jewish Committee before founding the council.
The council is a non-governmental organization that receives most of its funding from overseas, mainly from philanthropic individuals and groups in the United States. It is the umbrella organization of more than 70 Jewish, Muslim and Christians institutions in Israel, serves as the Israel chapter of World Religions for Peace and member of the International Council of Christians and Jews.
It runs programs for religious leaders, women, youth and educators throughout Israel, and in both east and west Jerusalem.
The council is an advocate for peace through a two-state solution, but it’s not a lobby group. “Our role is not political, but rather to represent civic society. When we began we assumed the politicians were going to finish the job of making peace on paper, and we would provide the second track of peace building among people. Although it has taken longer than we expected, we still believe in that,” he said.
“Over the years, we have learned to live with conflict: we now speak of management and mitigation, rather than resolution. Our goal is to reduce the violence and hatred [until a formal peace is established].
“We are paving the way for peace by creating relationships between people. Just as in any country, we have to harness the energies of all peoples.”
Victor Goldbloom, whose family sponsored Rabbi Kronish’s appearance at the temple, is a past president of the International Council of Christians and Jews.
“Interfaith dialogue here may make some contribution to peace in the Middle East, but dialogue there is fundamental to the hope of ultimately living in mutual respect,” Goldbloom said.