RAOUL WALLENBERG INSTITUTE OF ETHICS
Malibu Jewish
Center and Synagogue, Malibu, CA
http://raoulwallenberginstitute.org
Second Annual Jewish/Muslim Dialogue: Visions and Viewpoints
Sunday Afternoon, January 22, 2006 from 2:30-6:30
Islamic Center of Southern CA
DIALOGUE
Join in
structured conversations known as dialogues with members of the Jewish and
Islamic communities led by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics. Our goal
is to uncover mutual misunderstandings and discover roots of friendship and respect.
We will dialogue about how we relate to our faith traditions and how we can
create consensus on important issues through our Online Consensus- Building
Dialogue. We will end our day by sharing a meal and continuing to get to know
each other better.
JUST VISION is a thought
provoking film about the everyday leaders within our midst. A former Israeli settler, a
Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved
Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother risk their lives and public standing to promote
a nonviolent end to the conflict.
Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities.
What drives them and thousands
of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions? And why is
it, with the world's cameras focused
on this conflict, we have never heard about them?
Please go to the Just Vision website
to learn more about the organization and this thought provoking film.
Last year, we had an extremely engaging dialogue that spawned many friendships and furthered discussions online. This year, we hope to continue our tradition of helping us touch each other’s hearts and minds. Mehnaz Afridi and Cheryl Weiner, our facilitators, became dear friends through their dialogues that started as a result of last year's program. Find your friend this year!
Islamic Center of Southern
California (Parking in rear of the building)
434 S
Vermont Ave (downtown), Los Angeles, CA 90020
Contact Person:
Jihad Turk at 213 382-9200 or turk@islamctr.org
For more information: Mehnaz Afridi, mafridi@hotmail.com
or 562- 881-0530 or
Cheryl Weiner at CWeinerMH@aol.com or 310-473-4627
Rebecca Tobias at rebeccatobias@gmail.com or 310-916-8888
To RSVP (essential): Please give name and email or phone
by Jan. 18.
Email: rogerweaton@gmail.com or
Phone: Marjorie Stone: 310-445-4003
On day of
the event, contacts are Mehnaz Afridi (above) or Jihad Turk at the Islamic
Center.
RAOUL WALLENBERG
INSTITUTE OF ETHICS MISSION STATEMENT
The Raoul
Wallenberg Institute of Ethics Institute is committed to the promotion of a
culture of peace and its foundational values of equality, justice, love,
compassion, and mutual respect. Its humanitarian programs are aimed at the
resolution of conflicts, the elimination of prejudice, and the broadening of
perspectives. It encourages the study of faith-based sacred texts and heritages
as part of the interfaith dynamic that is at the core of this endeavor. It also
emphasizes the personal nature of this process by recognizing that what is
created in the outside world is a reflection of one's inner world.
The
Institute takes the following approaches to achieve this mission:
1) The
creation of a Peace Academy with a faculty covering all disciplines that relate
to the mission.
2)
Networking with positive forces in society --- both secular and religious – to
foster conflict resolution, improvement of the urban and natural environments
and the well-being of the of people from all segments of our global community.
3) The sponsorship of forums to examine the issues of the day in terms of ethical principles and actions.
4) The
initiation of cultural and educational programs that creatively use the latest
technology
5) The
sponsorship of conferences that highlight and bring focus to the programs of
the Institute.
Ronit Avni
is a prominent human rights activist and documentary producer/director focusing
her lens on human rights issues world-wide. Prior to launching Just Vision,
Ronit was the Program Associate at WITNESS. Founded by musician Peter Gabriel,
WITNESS advances human rights advocacy using video and communications
technology. Ronit has trained non-governmental organizations from Honduras to
the Gambia to produce videos as a tool for public education and grassroots
mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse and as evidence before courts and
tribunals. She has taught in major universities, published articles and books,
and produced films that promote using video for advocacy and activism,
including “Inverting the Shame-Based Human Rights Documentation Model in the
Context of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict." Ronit received a Burnam
Fellowship to intern at B’Tselem: the Israeli Information Center for Human
Rights in the Occupied Territories. While abroad, Ronit volunteered for the
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI).
Mehnaz M.
Afridi has a B.A. and M. A. in Religious Studies from Syracuse University and
has studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her extensive background in
both Jewish and Islamic thought and culture has led to numerous prestigious
research grants and fostered the development of courses in Jewish and Islamic
Studies Programs. She has taught at Syracuse University, Hamilton College,
Antioch College, National University, American Intercontinental University and
Loyola Marymount University. Born in Pakistan, raised in Europe, educated in
the United States and Israel, Professor Afridi brings a global perspective to
exploring the images of Islam in the modern world.
Cheryl
Weiner, Ph.D., is a Rabbinic candidate at the Academy for Jewish Religion/CA,
focusing on values-based education. She is a liaison member of the Progressive
Jewish Alliance’s Seminarians for Social Justice. At the National Conference
for Community and Justice, she designed and ran an interfaith leadership
program for clergy and lay leaders throughout Southern CA and staffed the
Interreligous Council of Southern CA. She has run numerous interfaith dialogue
sessions and has taught comparative religion at the University of Judaism
Extension. She currently serves as a Rabbinic Intern at Kehillat Israel and
University Synagogue, Irvine and is the Program Coordinator for the Raoul
Wallenberg Institute of Ethics at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue.