Learning and listening. That is the key to discussing and debating conflict. Resolution takes time. And patience. With that in mind, the Board came up with the innovation of bringing over different faith leaders from England to Northern Ireland for a two day conference: these leaders hold differing views on the Israel-Palestine conflict; indeed their own communities are often polarised on the debate. The 14 faiths leaders, Jewish, Muslim and Christian, traveled together to Belfast to meet with representatives from the religious, grassroots and political sector - including former paramilitaries - to hear about how day to day conflict – with life and death consequences - can be managed, and in the long run, how to bring different peoples closer together. The group met at the East Belfast Mission in Skainos Square in one of the poorest areas of Belfast. In a neighborhood scarred by sectarian violence, and still marred by murals of baklava-clad paramilitary men enclosed in slogans of blood, violence history and God, the Skainos centre is an an inspiration. This new building was created on the initiative of the Rev Dr Gary Mason, the Methodist Minister of the Mission, in a Protestant area of Belfast with the deliberate attempt to create a neutral space where different community groups could meet, homeless could find a shelter, former prisoners were re-building old bikes, and youth programmes catered to every age. It was literally hope personified in a building. According to Rabbi Natan Levy, the Board’s Interfaith and Social Action consultant who helped coordinate the trip, "As the three faith leaders often have an elephant in the rooms we share, that elephant is Israel and Palestine. Together with the co-creators of this trip, Imam Usmama Hasan from the Quilliam Foundation, and Canon Robert Reiss, Emeritus of Westminster Abbey, we came to the understanding that our three communities may not yet be ready to speak directly about that elephant, until we can speak with trust and sensitivity about the meta-issues that surround that pain. We needed to hear about how hard resolutions are made, how reconciliation can work on a day to day level, how faith leaders take extreme risks for peace: that led us to Belfast, to Revd Gary Mason, and-ultimately, to these deeply transformative two days together." On the second day, the group moved carefully on to consider the parallels with the situation in Israel/Palestine. The takeaways from the trip were vast including: Moving from violence to dialogue in conflict arenas; Learning from NI experts on how to model constructive language for Holy Land dialogue between and for our own communities; Development and training in conflict resolution; Trust building, and social action work as a group. The 14 faith leaders are now considering an experiential trip to the Holy Land, with a strong basis of mutual trust and profound respect engendered by the challenging time together in Belfast.
Board of Deputies Community Briefing
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