• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • JOIN
  • MEMBER PORTAL
  • DONATE
    • MAKE A DONATION
    • CREATE A NAMED ENDOWED FUND
    • SECURE OUR FUTURE
    • LIFE & LEGACY
    • THE TEMPLE APPEAL
  • PAY ONLINE
5101 US-42 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40241 • (502) 423-1818
The Temple - Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Clergy
      • Rabbi Rapport
      • Rabbi Ariel-Joel
      • Rabbi Diamond​
      • Rabbi Rooks
    • Our Staff
    • Our Leadership
      • Committees
    • Our Campus
      • Archives & Museum
      • Gift Shop
      • Temple Library
      • Temple Treasures
    • The Temple Cemetery
    • Bulletin
    • FAQs
    • Join Us
  • Spiritual Life
    • Shabbat Services
    • Jewish Holidays
    • Life Cycle Events
    • Becoming Jewish
    • Shir Chadash
    • Caring Rabbi
  • Learning & Living
    • Adults
      • Monday Classes
      • Temple Scholars
      • Torah Study
      • Movie Night
      • Senior University
    • Children
      • Trager Early Childhood Education Center
      • The Temple Religious School
      • B’nei Mitzvah Program
      • GUCI
    • College
    • Torah Tidbit
  • Community
    • *New* Member Portal
    • Member Directory
    • Member Spotlight
    • Brotherhood
    • Sisterhood/WRJ
    • Young Adult Group
    • LGBTQ Equality
    • Chavurat Shalom
    • Boy Scout Troop 30
    • Volunteering
  • Events
    • Event Calendar
    • Event Highlights & Pictures
    • Live Streaming
  • Contact
    • Have a Question?
    • New to Louisville?
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Roots

Roots

November 10, 2019/in Featured, News

What an amazing program! Thank you Roots for speaking with us about your organization and work.

Roots
Roots
Roots
Roots

Roots

from https://jewishlouisville.org/building-trust-settler-rabbi-palestinian-talk-roots-at-temple/

Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, a West Bank settler, lives less than a mile from his Palestinian neighbors, but they might as well be a world apart.
Despite the close proximity, their two communities share virtually nothing.
They drive cars with different license plates (blue for Israel, green for Palestine).
They have different garbage collectors.
Different schools.
Different holidays.
Different media.
They even live in different time zones. They switch to and from daylight savings time on their own schedules, meaning Jews and Arabs could be on the same street and have different times on their watches.
“We’re so close together, but so far apart,” Schlesinger said. “There’s no connection, and that means there’s going to be bigotry; there’s going to be stereotypes; there’s going to be racism, and there’s going to be hate.”
He said there’s “no piece of earth” that is common to both sides. “Every piece is either theirs or ours. There’s no place to meet.”
Yet for two hours on Sunday, Nov. 10, at The Temple, Schlesinger, an Orthodox rabbi from Gush Etzion, and Shadi Abu Awwad, a 27-year-old Palestinian educator from Beit Ummar, both on the West Bank, did meet, sharing a pulpit as they described how they are trying to bring Jews and Arabs together on “one piece of earth” to share their stories, build trust and lay the foundation for an eventual peace.
Schlesinger and Awwad are members of Roots, a grassroots organization (no pun intended) consisting of West Bank settlers and Palestinians who have agreed to come together and seek the common ground they can’t find in their daily lives.
The Temple, Temple Shalom, the Jewish Community Relations Council, Interfaith Paths to Peace and the Middletown Christian Church sponsored their visit, which included programs at St. Francis School downtown and the Muhammad Ali Center.
Founded in 2014, Roots uses workshops, summer camps and youth programs to promote its message. It also engages media and leaders – activists, city officials, soldiers.
Speaking before a crowd of 200 or more in The Temple chapel, the word “roots” in English, Hebrew and Arabic projected on a screen behind them, Schlesinger and Awwad described how Roots participants meet regularly on land provided by Awwad’s family. They’re nervous at first, even fearful. Yet they manage to strike up conversations with people who had previously been their enemies.
And they learn hard truths.
“There’s violence in the West Bank,” said Schlesinger, an ardent Zionist. “The thing is that Israelis – my people – we only know the violence that they (the Palestinians) do to us. We don’t know the violence that we Israelis do to them; it’s not in the newspapers. And the Palestinians, they know the violence Israelis do to them, but they have very little knowledge of the violence that their people, the Palestinians, do to us Israelis.
“Each side is certain that the other side is bad, and we’re good. Their side is violent and aggressive – they’re terrorists – our side is peace-loving,” continued Schlesinger, a New York-born co-founder of Roots. He said Roots seeks to “humanize the enemy – at least a little bit.”
Awwad described how a simple act of driving a car can be a life-or-death experience for a Palestinian.
He recalled coming through an Israeli army checkpoint. As the soldiers waved him through, and he started pulling forward, an Israeli woman crossed the road in front of him.
Immediately, Awwad slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting her, which triggered an Israeli soldier to train his weapon on him, thinking he might be a terrorist poised to attack.
It was a Catch-22 situation, Awwad said. Either hit the brakes or risk hitting the woman. Either way, he could have been shot.
The status quo, or “normalization” as he called it, is not the way to a lasting peace.
“Respect and dignity is one of the most important things for us,” Awwad said. “You have to stick to your identity and your rights, and all of that, which is against normalization. We just believe you cannot give up part of your identity and call for peace from a point of weakness.”
Neither should Palestinians resort to violence, he added. “I am a human being before being a Palestinian.”
Schlesinger and Awwad are touring America, visiting synagogues and churches to talk up Roots’ mission. Not so many mosques, Schlesinger lamented (only one on this trip). “We have real difficulties speaking in mosques. There’s sociological reasons; there’s economic reasons; there’s political reasons.”
They also speak at universities, where Awwad is “shocked and mad” about the degree to which students are “moving the conflict to the campuses,” fighting instead of talking.
“We should also have Roots here for the students so they can really talk to each other,” Awwad said to a round of applause.

Want to help?
Roots has a mailing list of about 3,000 supporters. To support them, visit friendsofroots.net. See the column on page 6 for more details.

Tags: Guest Speaker, Israel, Tikkun Olam
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
You might also like
Mazel tov, to David Kaplan, as he was called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah in Israel at the Egalitarian Wall. Bar Mitzvah in Israel
MLK Mitzvah Day packed over 11,000 meals MLK Mitzvah Day packed over 11,000 meals
Blankets & Blessings Blankets & Blessings are hard at work at The Temple!
Sandwich Making at The Temple! Sandwich Making
JFCS Trip
RAKLouisville visits Religious School

Latest Bulletin

June 2022
Download Now!

Latest Stories

  • Rabbi Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport’s CelebrationMay 24, 2022 - 9:22 am
  • Passover 2022 at The TempleApril 26, 2022 - 12:52 pm
  • The Temple Welcomes Cantor Lauren AdesnikFebruary 24, 2022 - 1:27 pm
  • An Appeal on Behalf of our CommonwealthDecember 14, 2021 - 4:44 pm
  • Hanukkah Menorah LightingDecember 6, 2021 - 9:00 am
  • Happy Hour and DinnerOctober 22, 2021 - 1:00 pm
  • Temple Support for United States VeteransAugust 18, 2021 - 9:38 am
  • Happy Passover – Message from our RabbisMarch 24, 2021 - 3:52 pm
  • The Temple is Getting Ready for Your ReturnThe Temple is Getting Ready for Your ReturnMarch 16, 2021 - 2:30 pm
  • Hamantaschen Baking Purim Party with Margie KommorFebruary 28, 2021 - 2:16 pm

Archive

  • July 2022 (1)
  • June 2022 (4)
  • May 2022 (5)
  • April 2022 (6)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (5)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • December 2021 (7)
  • November 2021 (4)
  • October 2021 (6)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (5)
  • June 2021 (4)
  • May 2021 (4)
  • April 2021 (5)
  • March 2021 (6)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (5)
  • December 2020 (5)
  • November 2020 (6)
  • October 2020 (6)
  • September 2020 (6)
  • August 2020 (5)
  • July 2020 (6)
  • June 2020 (7)
  • May 2020 (7)
  • April 2020 (7)
  • March 2020 (5)
  • February 2020 (4)
  • January 2020 (6)
  • December 2019 (8)
  • November 2019 (14)
  • October 2019 (9)
  • September 2019 (7)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (11)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (6)
  • April 2019 (11)
  • March 2019 (15)
  • February 2019 (9)
  • January 2019 (6)
  • December 2018 (10)
  • November 2018 (7)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (3)
  • August 2018 (3)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (3)

GET IN TOUCH

Contact The Temple

5101 US-42, Louisville, KY 40241
(502) 423-1818

[email protected]

To contact a Rabbi about a confidential matter, please email [email protected]

Kroger Community Rewards
Shop Amazon

HELPFUL LINKS

Join The Temple

New to Louisville?

Register for an Event

Volunteer Opportunities

Religious School

Preschool

URJWhere Jewish Tradition Meets Tomorrow

THE TEMPLE WEEKLY EMAIL

 

Weekly news, right in your inbox

© Copyright 2021 – The Temple | Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
RAKLouisville visits Religious SchoolTorah Tidbits - Study Judaism with Rabbi Rapport and Rabbi David. Ki Tisa Tetzaveh Pekudei Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1−5:26)The opening word of Leviticus that gives the book and this first parashah its name is Vayikra Tazria Metzorah Achrei Mot Emor B’har B’hukotai Sh’lach L’cha Korach Matot Masei D'varim Va-et’chanan Eikev Nitzavim Chayei Sarah Tol'dot MishpatimVayeira (Genesis 18:1–22:24)
Scroll to top