Painful Hope
Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, along with other Israeli and Palestinian partners, have been involved since January 2014 in founding and expanding Roots/Judur/Shorashim, the Palestinian Israeli Grassroots Initiative for Understanding, Non-violence, and Transformation on a piece of land owned by the Awaad family in the heart of Gush Etzion and abutting the Palestinian town of Beit Umar. This location is one of the rare places that both Palestinians and Israelis can access without special government permits, thus facilitating grassroots, unmediated get-togethers and deep conversations between people from the two sides.
The Palestinians and Israelis involved in this initiative do not hide the many deep disagreements between them. They are deeply aware of the complexities of the conflict and of the lack of equality between the two sides. What unites them is their honest search for human understanding and non-violent resolution of the conflict.
Join the Roots activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli - as they tell their personal stories and the intertwining of their stories. They come with no ready peace plans in hand, but only with the conviction that human understanding and trust will be the prerequisites for lasting justice, freedom and peace on that tiny sliver of land that they both call home.
Rav Hanan tours the US twice a year together with Shadi Abu Awwad, Roots' Palestinian representative in the US. The upcoming tours will take place October 28 - November 26 & March 11 - March 30.
The Palestinians and Israelis involved in this initiative do not hide the many deep disagreements between them. They are deeply aware of the complexities of the conflict and of the lack of equality between the two sides. What unites them is their honest search for human understanding and non-violent resolution of the conflict.
Join the Roots activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli - as they tell their personal stories and the intertwining of their stories. They come with no ready peace plans in hand, but only with the conviction that human understanding and trust will be the prerequisites for lasting justice, freedom and peace on that tiny sliver of land that they both call home.
Rav Hanan tours the US twice a year together with Shadi Abu Awwad, Roots' Palestinian representative in the US. The upcoming tours will take place October 28 - November 26 & March 11 - March 30.
About Shadi and Rav Hanan
Born into a family that took a major leadership role in the First Palestinian Intifada / uprising, Shadi Abu Awwad was imbued from a young age with deep Palestinian patriotism and activism – and with a fierce hatred of Israelis.
An Orthodox rabbi and passionate Zionist settler, Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger has lived most of his life in the West Bank where Palestinian make up 90% of the population. Yet 33 years past until he first had a real conversation with a Palestinian.
That Palestinian was Shadi’s uncle Ali. Rabbi Hanan was profoundly transformed by his friendship with Ali and with other Palestinians. His understanding of the reality of the Middle East conflict and of Zionism was utterly complicated by the parallel universe that they introduced him to.
Shadi’s brother was shot and almost killed by an Israeli soldier. An Israeli doctor heroically saved his brother’s life. Confounded by the contradiction, Shadi began a journey that ultimately brought him to see a human being and a partner on the other side.
Roots, the Israeli Palestinian grassroots initiative for understanding, nonviolence and transformation, was founded five years ago by Rabbi Hanan, Ali and other local activists to build bridges of reconciliation between the two sides.
Shadi created the Roots youth program and was its first director. Local Palestinian and Israeli teenagers, who would otherwise never met each other, learn to acknowledge each other's humanity and become a new type of leader who can work together with the other side – and not against it – to create a better future for their peoples.
We invite you to join Shadi and Hanan as they share their personal, interconnected stories and present the groundbreaking and challenging grassroots work of Roots. They do not come with blueprinted peace plans in hand, but with the deep conviction that human understanding and trust are the prerequisites for lasting justice, freedom, and peace in that little sliver of land they both call home.
Born into a family that took a major leadership role in the First Palestinian Intifada / uprising, Shadi Abu Awwad was imbued from a young age with deep Palestinian patriotism and activism – and with a fierce hatred of Israelis.
An Orthodox rabbi and passionate Zionist settler, Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger has lived most of his life in the West Bank where Palestinian make up 90% of the population. Yet 33 years past until he first had a real conversation with a Palestinian.
That Palestinian was Shadi’s uncle Ali. Rabbi Hanan was profoundly transformed by his friendship with Ali and with other Palestinians. His understanding of the reality of the Middle East conflict and of Zionism was utterly complicated by the parallel universe that they introduced him to.
Shadi’s brother was shot and almost killed by an Israeli soldier. An Israeli doctor heroically saved his brother’s life. Confounded by the contradiction, Shadi began a journey that ultimately brought him to see a human being and a partner on the other side.
Roots, the Israeli Palestinian grassroots initiative for understanding, nonviolence and transformation, was founded five years ago by Rabbi Hanan, Ali and other local activists to build bridges of reconciliation between the two sides.
Shadi created the Roots youth program and was its first director. Local Palestinian and Israeli teenagers, who would otherwise never met each other, learn to acknowledge each other's humanity and become a new type of leader who can work together with the other side – and not against it – to create a better future for their peoples.
We invite you to join Shadi and Hanan as they share their personal, interconnected stories and present the groundbreaking and challenging grassroots work of Roots. They do not come with blueprinted peace plans in hand, but with the deep conviction that human understanding and trust are the prerequisites for lasting justice, freedom, and peace in that little sliver of land they both call home.