Friendship Through Faith: Israelis and Palestinians Pursuing Peace

Faith can be transformative. Can it transform Holy War into Holy Peace? Two leaders of the Jerusalem-based Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue – Dr. Sarah Bernstein (an Israeli Jew) and John Munayer (a Palestinian Christian) – come together to discuss the challenges and possibilities of interreligious peacebuilding, drawing on their unique religious backgrounds and experiences to shed light on the current situation. Rabbi Ari Lorge moderates this fascinating conversation about creating truly shared societies across religious and ethnic differences.  

Dr. Sarah Bernstein was born in the UK and has a background in law and mediation. She has worked in the field of peace-building and coexistence since 2000, specializing in interreligious dialogue. Dr. Bernstein was awarded her PHD in Peace and Reconciliation Studies by Coventry University in England for her thesis on the theme of ‘Narratives of Belonging: Life Stories of Jewish-Israeli Women in Jerusalem.’ She sits on the Alliance for Peacebuilding Global Advisory Council on Effective Interreligious Peacebuilding and is a founding Board member of the International Association of Spiritual Care. 

John Munayer was born and raised in Jerusalem. He has been involved in peace-building and dialogue initiatives from a young age. He completed an MSc in International Relations of the Middle East from the University of Edinburgh, an MA in Theology and Religious Studies: Building Interreligious Relations from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and a BA in Religion, Politics, and Society from King’s College London. John also researches, writes, and lectures on Palestinian Christian identity, Palestinian Theology, and Interreligious Dialogue.