Israeli settler, Palestinian peace activist bring personal stories to Rhode Island

“Participants involved in this initiative are deeply aware of the complexities of the conflict; they do not hide their many deep disagreements and the lackof equality between the two parties.””

Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Ali Abu Awwad will speak in the Providence area April 7-9. They will tell their personal stories and talk about Roots/Judur/Shorashim (Roots), the Palestinian Israeli Grassroots Initiative for Understanding, Non-Violence, and Transformation, an organization they created together with other Palestinians and settlers. 

Their public presentation, “Seeing the Humanity in Your Enemy,” will take place at Brown University, Temple Beth-El, Congregation Beth Sholom, and Masjid al-Islam.

Schlesinger is an Orthodox rabbi, teacher, and passionate Zionist settler who was transformed by his friendship with Awwad.  His perception of the reality of the Middle East conflict and Zionism shifted profoundly upon being exposed to the parallel universe to which Awwad introduced him. Awwad is a leading proponent of Palestinian non-violent resistance and reaches out to Jewish Israelis.  

Roots is located on a piece of land in Gush Etzion owned by the Awwad family and abutting the Palestinian town of Beit Umar.  The area is one of the rare places that both Palestinians and Israelis can access without special government permits, thus facilitating grassroots, unmediated get-togethers and conversations between people from the two sides.

Participants involved in this initiative are deeply aware of the complexities of the conflict; they do not hide their many deep disagreements and the lack of equality between the two parties.  What unites them is their honest search for human understanding and non-violent resolution of the conflict.

Schlesinger, originally from New York, emigrated to Israel at the age of 20, and has lived over the Green Line, in Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion, for more than 30 years.  He has spent over 10 years learning in Israeli Talmudic seminaries and worked toward a master’s degree in Jewish philosophy at Hebrew University.  For three decades, Schlesinger taught Jewish studies in college, seminary and adult education settings in Jerusalem, Florida, and Texas.  He became involved in interfaith work with Christians, and then Muslims, in Dallas, but never met a Palestinian as an equal until two years ago. 

Awwad was jailed by Israel during the first intifada for stone throwing and membership in a terrorist cell.  Along with his mother, who was also imprisoned, Awwad engaged in a 17-day hunger strike and learned the tremendous power of non-violence. While in jail, he read and came under the influence of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela.

During the second intifada, Awwad was wounded by an Israeli in a drive-by shooting and was evacuated to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. While in the hospital, he received word that his beloved brother had been shot and killed by an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint.  He joined the Bereaved Families Forum, a group that brings together people from both sides of the conflict who have lost loved ones to violence.  There he began to learn how to channel his pain and anger not only into non-violent resistance, but also into reaching over the chasm that divides Palestinians and Israelis.

Schlesinger and Awwad will start their Providence visit with a lecture at Brown University on Thursday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Macmillan 117, 167 Thayer St.  On Friday, April 8, at 7 p.m., they will speak at Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave.  On Saturday, April 9, at 11 a.m., they will present at Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., followed by a lunch panel.  Their last speaking engagement will be on Saturday, April 9, at 8 p.m. at Masjid al-Islam, 40 Sayles Hill Road, in North Smithfield.  

All events are free and open to the public, although donations will be requested at some of the venues for meals, to support the work of Roots, and to help needy Palestinian families. In addition to the venues hosting the two, co-sponsors of the visit include J Street Rhode Island and the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. 

For more information on their organization, go to friendsofroots.net.