Photo credit Orr Viznitser
Testimonials
“I was lucky to hear your and your partner’s riveting talks this past Saturday morning. You both explained the un-explainable—how to make peace in a place that has experienced war and bloodshed for thousands of years: one meeting at a time—a true change of hearts and minds. I am a high school teacher at a public school in RI. I would like to teach your Roots of Peace talk. I think it is a model for reconciliation between any two opposing views. Your words about “partial-truth masquerading as whole truth” rang true to me. …please accept my gratitude for your work. It will change the world.”
— Sandra Laub, Rhode Island (November, 2018)
"I had the honor to see Rav Hanan and Ali yesterday, I was beyond impressed with them and the work they are doing. It is truly one of the more powerful presentations I've heard. Both are eloquent, passionate, and honest. They really must be heard and must be supported both by hosting them in our communities and providing financial support, so they can continue the most important aspect of their work at home."
-Rabbi Ben Berger
“…This past Sunday we hosted a fascinating symposium at BJ: New Paradigms for Breaking the Impasse of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Two of the presenters, Shadi Abu Awwad and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, represented Roots/Shorashim/Judur, an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots initiative located in the West Bank that works toward understanding, nonviolence, and transformation. Roots fosters personal and direct encounters between Palestinians and Jewish settlers, who work through deep ideological differences in order to break stereotypes and discover each other’s humanity, traumas, needs, and connection to the land. “Despite living so close to each other, Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank exist in almost complete separation. … Stereotypes are generally just reinforced by exposure to only the aggression of the other, whether through media or personal experience of violence and trauma,” reads the Roots website. One of Roots’ founders, Ali Abu Awwad, says, “There can be no harmony until we, Palestinians and Israelis, see the humanity of the other side"
-Rabbi Roly Matalon - Temple B’nai Jeshurun - New York (February 1st, 2019)
"Even as an educator, it is uncommon for my own prejudices and preconceived notions to be challenged so dramatically by new perspectives. And even as a so-called religious leader, it is uncommon for me to see such profound evidence of the hand of God, opening hearts and conquering hatred and fear."
-Rabbi David Wolkenfeld
“Roots offers a real path toward a better, more peaceful, and more humane future for all, in a land known by many names to the many people who love it. It does so by appreciating not only the centrality of person-to-person encounter, but by respecting the grand historical and spiritual narratives which are too often overlooked by so many well-intentioned peace-builders, and without which, the most needed voices in the conversation are left unheard."
-Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, President, CLAL—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
— Sandra Laub, Rhode Island (November, 2018)
"I had the honor to see Rav Hanan and Ali yesterday, I was beyond impressed with them and the work they are doing. It is truly one of the more powerful presentations I've heard. Both are eloquent, passionate, and honest. They really must be heard and must be supported both by hosting them in our communities and providing financial support, so they can continue the most important aspect of their work at home."
-Rabbi Ben Berger
“…This past Sunday we hosted a fascinating symposium at BJ: New Paradigms for Breaking the Impasse of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Two of the presenters, Shadi Abu Awwad and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, represented Roots/Shorashim/Judur, an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots initiative located in the West Bank that works toward understanding, nonviolence, and transformation. Roots fosters personal and direct encounters between Palestinians and Jewish settlers, who work through deep ideological differences in order to break stereotypes and discover each other’s humanity, traumas, needs, and connection to the land. “Despite living so close to each other, Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank exist in almost complete separation. … Stereotypes are generally just reinforced by exposure to only the aggression of the other, whether through media or personal experience of violence and trauma,” reads the Roots website. One of Roots’ founders, Ali Abu Awwad, says, “There can be no harmony until we, Palestinians and Israelis, see the humanity of the other side"
-Rabbi Roly Matalon - Temple B’nai Jeshurun - New York (February 1st, 2019)
"Even as an educator, it is uncommon for my own prejudices and preconceived notions to be challenged so dramatically by new perspectives. And even as a so-called religious leader, it is uncommon for me to see such profound evidence of the hand of God, opening hearts and conquering hatred and fear."
-Rabbi David Wolkenfeld
“Roots offers a real path toward a better, more peaceful, and more humane future for all, in a land known by many names to the many people who love it. It does so by appreciating not only the centrality of person-to-person encounter, but by respecting the grand historical and spiritual narratives which are too often overlooked by so many well-intentioned peace-builders, and without which, the most needed voices in the conversation are left unheard."
-Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, President, CLAL—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership