I have totally opened to a new perspective on the conflict, one that I thought I understood but I now realize that I did not.
Rabbi David Schuck
Rabbi, Beth El Synagogue Center
Encounter gave me an opportunity that I had long been missing: to listen to the stories, perspectives, and experiences of Palestinians living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. As a passionate supporter of Israel who yearns for peace, this experience was critical to a more complete understanding of the complexity of this land…
Rabbi Adam Raskin
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Har Shalom
The opportunity to build relationships and process this intense experience with colleagues and new friends feels essential and a gift.
Rabbi Deborah Waxman
President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College/Jewish Reconstructionist Communities
The Encounter experience was such a powerful reminder of the importance of face-to-face interaction. After listening to and learning from actual Palestinian human beings, it’s impossible to revert to grand pronouncements about ‘the Palestinians’ as an undifferentiated, homogenous collective: They’re just as complex, multi-dimensional, thoughtful, and fallible as the rest of us. What a gift to be reminded of that elusive truth in this era of insidious generalizations.
Aaron Dorfman
President, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
It is a duty to listen to all the stories if you wish to have a properly functioning moral compass.
Rabbi Steve Greenberg
Executive Director, Eshel
