Against a backdrop of the war in Gaza, we introduce the work of a joint Palestinian-Israeli peacemaking project, Musalaha, a faith-based civil society organization that has been working on reconciliation for the past 32 years. They struggle for mutual recognition and bridge-building, working among all groups in the land based on biblical understandings of reconciliation, in practical, everyday contexts.
Daniel Munayer, the current Director, who lives in Jerusalem, will explain and discuss the work of Musalaha, from his expert knowledge and his lifetime experience. In 1948, when his family was expelled by the new State of Israel from the city where his family had lived for generations, his grandfather told his family that they would never retaliate, never hate. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, he said. Daniel has had opportunities not only to engage locally in reconciliation projects but also, for example, to have an audience with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in September 2023, and Antony Blinken and the UN Security Council in May 2022.
Daniel will be accompanied by Courtney Reeve, also living in Palestine, currently as a doctoral student examining reconciliation at Musalaha. Before this, she pastored at a Toronto church, after completing her theological studies at Wycliffe College. Her Queen’s BA is in Global Development Studies.
All are welcome to learn more about Musalaha at this unique event.