| Musalaha | |
| Type: | non-profit organization |
| Foundation: | 1990, Jerusalem |
| Location: | Jerusalem |
| Key People: | Daniel Munayer, Director |
| Industry: | Reconciliation & Peacebuilding |
Musalaha (Arabic: مصالحة
:,) is a faith-based organization that teaches, trains and facilitates reconciliation mainly between Israelis and Palestinians from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, and also international groups, based on Biblical principles of reconciliation.
Musalaha's approach to reconciliation is enshrined in its "Musalaha Curriculum for Reconciliation". The Musalaha Curriculum is both a pragmatic roadmap and an academic source of reconciliation, cumulated in over 30 years of academic research and in-field testing in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Musalaha's intervention logic stems from its understanding of reconciliation. Reconciliation has two parallel dimensions, which must be tackled simultaneously: 1) restoring relationships between individuals and community groups and 2) challenging the status quo by addressing systematic injustices which lie at the root of the conflict.
Thus, in order to achieve meaningful reconciliation, relationship-building must be paired with repairing injustices such as military occupation, Israeli settlements and settler colonialism, in order to transform the conflict towards a just, alternative framework for all. Meanwhile, addressing injustices must be combined with restoring relationships, for emotions such as anger, mistrust, fear, guilt, hurt, shame and trauma-induced stress would only continue hatred and perpetuate violence. In the word of Dr. Salim J. Munayer:
"As we founded Musalaha we knew that we had to deal with those issues, but also understood that Musalaha had to find a safe forum where people could develop relationships, and then express, exchange, learn, and debate the issues that divide us. Many wanted to deal with the issues right away without understanding the importance of the process: that these issues will be dealt with in proper time and manner, in the context of developed relationships."[1]According to Musalaha, one of the major contributors to the perpetuation and intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is settler-colonialism and an imbalance of power manifested in military occupation, and embedded in zero-sum and supremacist ideologies, favouring one people at the expense of another. Therefore, successful reconciliation requires to abandon victimization or security narratives, which make identities contingent upon existential threats and the systematic erasure of the 'other' in the Land. Those participating in reconciliation must reckon with their historical responsibilities, assume accountability and seek an agreement regarding social and political commitments in the framework of restorative justice, while actively committing to human equality and human rights.
Musalaha's Curriculum for Reconciliation encompasses 6 stages: 1) Beginning Relationships, 2) Opening Up, 3) Facing the Challenge, 4) Reclaiming Identity, 5) Committing and Returning, 6) Taking Steps and 22 chapters dealing with substantial themes of reconciliation.
Musalaha partners with a number of different organizations, churches and governments in the US and Europe and has representative branches in the US and the UK. Musalaha's leadership is Palestinian Christian and its staff consists of Messianic Jewish Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Musalaha was founded during the First Intifada, in 1990, by Dr. Salim J. Munayer, a Palestinian Christian from Lydd(a)/Lod. As a professor teaching in both colleges in Bethlehem and Jaffa, Dr. Salim J. Munayer observed that both Israelis and Palestinians were curious to know more about the other's worldview, narrative, culture and daily life. Yet, upon bringing both students and religious leaders together, any attempts to exchange information and initiative towards dialogue failed and resulted in misunderstanding and withdrawal from any interaction. Witness to these failures, Dr. Salim J. Munayer founded Musalaha, established as a vehicle to bring people together into the "process of reconciliation based on Biblical values of love, compassion, empathy and good neighborliness".[2] Their vision was to create a safe platform for Jewish Israelis and Christian and Muslim Palestinians to receive training in reconciliation and create sustainable relationships that can withstand the tensions and sensitivities of the conflict and are able to co-advocate against systematic injustices caused by the military occupation across communities in Israel and Palestine.
Among the early supporters of Musalaha was Open Doors leader, Brother Andrew. He wrote of Musalaha, "Of all the ministries in Israel, I found myself drawn most to this one. It seemed the most ambitious but also the riskiest. It wasn't an idea promoted by foreign missionaries but was birthed in the local Christian community. It didn't just talk about the problem between Palestinians and Jews. It brought the two sides together and provided a means for them to reconcile."[3]
In order to consolidate and reflect on lessons learned, the Musalaha Curriculum was developed. Since its first publication in 2011, the Curriculum has been tested and studied throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and North America to promote the process of peace-building and reconciliation. Today, the Curriculum is studied in universities and theological institutes across the US and Europe and has been the subject of diplomatic debate in conversations with the US Department of State and the United Nations Security Council.
The Curriculum reinvigorated the relevancy of theological understandings of identity, justice, power, and forgiveness in the process of reconciliation, thereby inaugurating a new dimension of learning within the field of peace-building and reconciliation at the grassroots level.
From its inception 30 years ago, Musalaha has grown into a thriving, locally and internationally recognized entity, and has developed a large variety of reconciliation-based activities.
Musalaha's intervention logic has isolated a variety of key actors within the process of reconciliation that are indispensable for sustainable and real change to occur. As such, Musalaha's recurring projects are developed to target children, young adults, women, and civil society leaders both across faiths and borders (Israel-Palestine) and across communities of faith in the same region (Muslim-Christian Palestinian). Musalaha's projects range from 5-day summer camps for children to long-term commitments over a course of multiple years and includes a wide spectrum of ages (ranging from 8 to 65 year old). Apart from the summer camps, Musalaha's projects provide reconciliation trainings that equip Israelis and Palestinians with the tools needed to make a vision of reconciliation a reality through outreach initiatives, tailored to community needs and designed to challenge the status quo.
Musalaha found an alternative strategy to address the policy of separation through prolonged exposure and trust-building, as stated in its Contact Hypothesis. Research indicates that bringing two conflicting groups of people together for meaningful encounters reduces social distance and lack of acceptance of the other. In Dr. Salim J. Munayer's words:
"I came to the conclusion that the theology of reconciliation was the best theology to deal with all these issues, and that more than anything else, the Jewish and Palestinian believers needed to be brought together, face to face. Anything less would not work, because of the dehumanization and demonization going on from both sides."[4]Musalaha's Contact Hypothesis mitigates the imbalance of power of the Israeli-Palestinian society caused by settler colonialism and the military occupation, by ensuring both sides are equal in size and have equal representation through a grassroots Israeli and Palestinian group leader. All encounters are conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic.In order to 1) Begin Relationships, Musalaha brings Israelis and Palestinians together in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, where both groups sleep, eat and learn together. Referred to as the Desert Encounters, this unique location offers both groups the needed neutrality and isolation, removed from societal expectations, physical and (some) psychological obstacles created by the occupation. Munayer articulated this vision when he said,
"We take people from both sides out into the desert for three days. I believe that when they are away from their normal surroundings, in a situation where they must work together, we can begin to break down the barriers and build a trust relationship."[5]Moreover, the desert's harsh climate stimulates people from both sides to rely on each other, transcending human differences and forging closer connections to each other and nature. The desert has significant theological relevancy in biblical stories of reconciliation.
The process of reconciliation is long and hard, however the earlier it is initiated, the easier it is to make real progress. For children, learning to understand and trust individual from the other side is facilitated through Musalaha's annual summer camps.
This camp is unique in that it brings together Israeli and Palestinian children (ages 8–13) in a friendly, neutral environment. For many of these young children, this camp is their first exposure to anyone from the other side and can be a very formative experience, and have a positive influence on their perceptions of each other.
Most Israeli and Palestinian youth have seen, experienced and/or participated in violence at some point in their early life. Already in the critical development stage, attitudes of hatred, enmity, victimization, and violence begin to emerge. From one generation to the next, the dehumanization and demonization of the other side is ingrained in youth without ever having met the other.
At the same time, Musalaha recognizes opportunities to engage youth who tend to be more open to building relationships, learning about reconciliation and justice, and identity formation in relation to the “other” as a source of strength to provide training in reconciliation leadership.
Musalaha runs several projects amongst youth: Overseas youth exchange and volunteering projects, youth leadership workshops, and Desert Encounters.
Another focus group are Palestinian young adults, who are particularly vulnerable to intra-religious and community tensions in the Palestinian territories and are victims of the military occupation regime in the West Bank. Annually, Musalaha recruits around 30 Christian and Muslim young adults and brings them to reconciliation through the Desert Encounters and a series of follow up teachings and workshops, resulting in joint outreach initiatives for the betterment of their civic responsibility and community life.
Moreover, Musalaha focuses on young adults throughout other projects and includes Israeli youth, as young adults find themselves on a crossroads in the conflict; either they are bound to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces, or they enroll in further education or start navigating employment.
Musalaha believes in gender equality and facilitating women towards leadership positions in the Middle East. Musalaha runs two women projects; one cross-border Israeli-Palestinian project that begins with the Desert Encounters, goes through reconciliation teachings over the course of 6 weekend meetings and concludes with joint outreach initiatives. The other project remains uni-national, as it brings Christian and Muslim Palestinian women together over 6 meetings, educating them in reconciliation and c-advocacy in their communities. These women are also encouraged to undertake their own reconciliation activities, as well as humanitarian outreach projects. The focus on women stems from a recognition that they serve as agents of change in their communities, and have significant influence in their capacity as mothers and wives, as well as working members of both the Israeli and Palestinian societies.
Over the years, Musalaha has established a platform of women in leadership roles, that enhances relationship-building, networking across ethno-religious differences and exchanges knowledge. By encouraging women to network and establish connections in civil society movements in the Land, Musalaha implements landmark Security Council Resolution 1325, which states that women have an indispensable role in negotiating, designing and executing durable peace accords.
Musalaha actively recruits Israeli and Palestinians in civil society leadership positions, who contribute to Musalaha's advocacy strategy after having been educated in reconciliation teachings. Besides working on advocacy strategies behind the scenes, this group designs and executes peacebuilding initiatives with considerable resources and impact in both Israel and Palestine. Musalaha and the leaders mutually profit from each other's sphere of influence on a joint mission to nourish social movements affecting real change for the sake of justice and peace.
There are many articles and project reports available on the Musalaha website. Additionally, Musalaha published and was consulted for numerous other books and articles:
Moreover, Musalaha's expertise in reconciliation has been analyzed in the following books:
The Musalaha office is in southern Jerusalem, in the Talpiyot neighborhood. Participants in Musalaha activities and events come from all over Israel, as well as from the Palestinian Territories. Their conferences and seminars take place at various locations around the country, however because it is often difficult to find a place where both Israelis and Palestinians are comfortable, and legally allowed to meet, Musalaha activities often take place in other regional locations such as Jordan, Cyprus, and in Europe.
As a non-profit, non-governmental organization, Musalaha depends on various charitable organizations worldwide that support its work.