Huda Abu Arqoub Speaks at USF
In the beginning of May, only a few days after arriving in San Francisco from the West Bank, AV's new Co-Executive Director, Huda Abu Arqoub, was a guest speaker at the University of San Francisco in a course titled "Religious Nonviolence and the Politics of Interpretation: The Case of Israel and Palestine." Speaking about her experiences growing up, living, and working in the West Bank, the twenty students eagerly posed questions to Abu Arqoub about issues such as the details of everyday life in the Middle East, social conventions in the West Bank, the stalled 'peace process', and potential political solutions to the on-going conflict. Abu Arqoub was quite impressed with the students, saying that "The high sense of social justice that these young men and women have was an eye opener." She looks forward to returning to USF in the fall to partner with USF in new and exciting ways.

AV Participates in UN Commission Panel and UN Women’s Club Event
In late February, Houda Abadi, the Director of Unity Programs, represented Abraham’s Vision at one of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women Panel series. The conference theme this year is women’s participation in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and in post conflict peace building. The panel, entitled “Muslim, Jewish and Christian Women Building Bridges for Peace and Understanding”, was organized by the US Federation of Middle East Peace and the International Council of Jewish Women, and was moderated by Salwa Kader, President of the US Federation for Middle East Peace. Among several notable speakers in attendance were Dr. Diane Marie Steele, President of the University of Saint Mary (Leavenworth, KS); Ms. Kathleen Peratis, member of the Human Rights Watch delegation to the World Conference Against Racism; June Jacobs, Founder and Executive member of the International Centre for Peace in the Middle East; and Souad Hammad Smiej, Minister Penitentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Director of Training and Social Affairs in the Moroccan government (to read more about this important conference, please click here).

Houda also attended a special event for the “Women for Peace”, organized by the United Nations Delegates Women’s Club Project (UNDWC). This historic event took place in the United Nations General Assembly Hall on March 11. The patron of the event was Mrs. Ban Soon –Taek, wife of the Secretary General of the United Nations, and the Co-Chairs were Mrs. Anna Birgis Hannesson, President of the UNDWC, and Dr. Helene Yousfi, wife of the Algerian Ambassador to the United Nations. The money raised from this event will be used for qualified female students from around the world to study at the graduate level in the UN’s University of Peace in Costa Rica. This multicultural event used art and music to promote and advance the message of peace, and was a great opportunity to engage UN delegates, diplomats, and people from all walks of life that are interested and strongly believe in promoting the message of peace and women’s development.

Committee on Teaching About the United Nations
In February 2008, two alumni from the 2006-07 Vision Program, Shira Danan and Elias Ibrahim represented Abraham's Vision at the United Nations conference on "Teaching and Learning in an Interdependent World," the tenth annual conference put on by the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN).

Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies
Aaron Hahn Tapper represented Abraham's Vision at a January 2008 conference hosted by the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Among other notables speaking at the conference were Mark Juergensmeyer and Richard Falk, University of California, Santa Barbara; Bryan Hehir, S.J., Harvard University; Katherine Marshall, Georgetown University; Scott Appelby, Notre Dame University; Saad Ibrahim, Ibn Kaldoun Center, Cairo; Carroll Bogert, Human Rights Watch; and Ahmed El Bendary, Islamic Relief.

Temple Israel of Hollywood
In mid-November, Directors Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper gave a presentation on Abraham's Vision at Temple Israel of Hollywood. After showing the powerful videos on the Vision Program and Unity Program, Bouayad and Hahn Tapper lead a Question and Answer session with participants, discussing their personal thoughts on both the current and future realpolitik between the global Jewish, Muslim, Israeli, and Palestinian communities.

University of San Francisco
In mid-November, Co-Executive Director Aaron Hahn Tapper met with approximately 25 students in the Master's in Theology Program of the Theology and Religious Studies Department of the University of San Francisco. After speaking about his experiences growing up in the Jewish American community, Hahn Tapper had a discussion with the participants about the work of Abraham's Vision in a Q&A forum, primarily focusing on the Jewish American and Muslim American communities, and elements of the dominant communal narratives of each.

Vision Fellows Presentation (NY, NY)
In early November two 2006-07 Vision Program Fellow Alumni, Shira Danan and Elias Ibrahim, shared their reflections on their Vision Program experience with a group of over 50 individuals at a restaurant in Manhattan. Danan and Ibrahim were introduced by AV Staffers Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper, who opened the evening's program, and then debuted AV's new Vision program video. Following their reflections, the two students, along with Bouayad and Hahn Tapper, opened up the floor to questions.

Interfaith Youth Core
At the end of October Director of Operations Gibran Bouayad participated in an afternoon plenary panel entitled "Building Mutually Inspiring Relationships Across Religious Boundaries " at the 5th National Conference for Interfaith Youth Core. The previous day, Unity Program 2005-06 Alumna Rebecca Katz talked about her experiences as a student in this powerful program, how it influenced her college career, and debuted a film she shot with fellow Unity Program Summer Intern Sara Hadi, also a UP 2005-06 alumna, which examines the first Unity Program through interviews of participants and teachers of the program. Gibran Bouayad and Unity Program NYC Co-Educator Zaikya Muwwakkil also joined the presentation.

Professional Leadership Project
At the end of October Co-Executive Director Aaron Hahn Tapper participated in a panel called "Core Conversations: The Challenge of Israel" at the third annual thinktank of the Professional Leadership Project. Stemming from a discussion surrounding the latest data compiled by sociologists Steven Cohen and Ari Kelman, among other things Hahn Tapper shared was that the Jewish American community needs to meet 20- and 30-somethings where they are at in relation to the state of Israel rather than try to get them to hold opinions of previous generations.

Harvard University
In mid-October Director of Unity Programs Houda Abadi represented Abraham's Vision at Harvard University's “Children of Abraham: Trialogue of Civilizations" conference, sponsored by Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Harvard Divinity School. As the only representative of a non-profit organization working on Jewish-Muslim relations at the conference, Abadi was able to have Muzammil Siddiqi, Chairman of the Fiqh (Islamic Law) Council of North America and Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, give a presentation on AV's powerful educational programs.

University of Colorado, Boulder
In mid-April, AV Staffers Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper gave a presentation on the work of Abraham's Vision for students and community members at the University of Colorado, Boulder, sponsored by the campus Hillel. This presentation was offered as a concurrent event at the Conference of World Affairs.

University of Denver
In mid-April, AV Staffers Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper gave a presentation at the University of Denver in Professor Caryn Aviv's course "Israel Through Film," where they discussed the work of Abraham's Vision and shared some of the ways that AV deals with the concept of competing narratives in the Vision Program.

JCC in Manhattan
In mid-March, along with summer 2006 Vision Program students Eman Bataineh (Barnard College) and Shira Danan (Columbia University), AV Staffers Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper discussed their work with Abraham's Vision at the JCC in Manhattan. Approximately 65 people attended this program, which was part of the JCC's series, "Voice of Reason in Unreasonable Times: A Series of Dialogues." Click here to see a flyer of the event.

Friday Night Live, Sinai Temple
On Friday, March 9, Abraham's Vision joined Sinai Temple's renowned "Friday Night Live," a musical Shabbat experience for young professionals led by Rabbi David Wolpe and musician Craig Taubman. Along with Rabbi Edward Feinstein, this month's guest rabbi from Valley Beth Shalom, AV staffers Gibran Bouayad, Aaron Hahn Tapper, and Sajida Jalalzai shared their thoughts on the 'Vision' with close to 1000 participants, citing inspirational verses from the Jewish and Islamic traditions. Click here for more information.

Vision Fellows Presentation (Los Angeles, CA)
In late January, two Summer 2006 Vision Program Fellows, Elias Ibrahim and Rebecca Neshkes, shared their reflections on their summer experience with a group of over 50 individuals at a restaurant in Los Angeles. Both students at UCLA (Neshkes graduated last spring), Ibrahim and Neshkes were introduced by AV Staffers Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper, who opened the evening's program. Following their reflections, the two students, along with Bouayad and Hahn Tapper, opened up the floor to questions.

2006

Jewish Theological Seminary
In early November, Co-Executive Director Aaron Hahn Tapper met with approximately 15 students and faculty from the Jewish Theological Seminary's Rabbinical School and William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education. After speaking about his experiences growing up in the Jewish American community, Hahn Tapper had a discussion with the participants about the work of Abraham's Vision in a Q&A forum. Click here for additional photos.

Vision Fellows Presentation (Palo Alto, CA)
In late October, two Summer 2006 Vision Program Fellows, Shushannah Akin and Loubna Qatami, shared their reflections on their summer experience with a group of 25 Jewish adults from Palo Alto. Both students at San Francisco State University, Akin and Qatami were introduced by Co-Executive Directors Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper, who opened the evening's program. Following their reflections, Qatami and Akin opened up the floor for questions.

Valley Beth Shalom
In mid-October, Co-Executive Directors Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper went to Valley Beth Shalom and met with 75 participants of the VBS Chazak Adult Education group. Bouayad and Hahn Tapper led a Question and Answer session with the participants, discussing their personal thoughts on both the current and future realpolitik between the global Jewish and Muslim communities. Valley Beth Shalom's Rabbi Emeritus, Harold Schulweis, opened the day's program. Click here to see additional photos.

Clinton Global Initiative 2006
Abraham's Vision was honored by President Bill Clinton at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative, the only conflict transformation educational organization honored by the President himself. The official Abraham's Vision commitment was as follows: "We commit to encourage mutual understanding and reconciliation between Jewish and Palestinian American university students." Thanks to a major donation from Gadi Kenny, Abraham's Vision was represented by Co-Executive Directors Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper, as well as 2006 Vision Fellows Eman Bataineh and Shira Danan, at the three-day event. Click here to see additional photos from this amazing conference.

Al-Qasimi College of Education
In mid-September, Co-Educators for Unity NYC Programs Sajida Jalazai and Irrit Dweck met with educators and administrators from Al-Qasimi college on their visit to New York City, introducing them to the unique interfaith education methodology of Abraham's Vision. Al-Qasimi College, located in the Palestinian-Arab town of Baqa Al-Gharbiyya (in the "Triangle" section of Israel) is a unique Muslim college founded upon an ideology that integrates a traditional commitment to Islam and modernity with a particular focus on human rights. Jalalzai and Dweck led the representatives of Al-Qasimi college in a lesson plan entitled "Wrestling with Reconciliation: Joseph/Yusuf in the Torah and the Qur'an."

California State University, Northridge
In co-sponsorship with various academic departments and student groups at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), including the campus Hillel and Muslim Students Association, Abraham's Vision presented a series of three interactive programs that took place over three days in November. Over the course of these three workshops there were more than 55 CSUN participants. These interactive programs aimed to allow Jewish and Muslim students at CSUN to re-examine their notions of the self and the 'other', utilizing their respective religious identities while highlighting the role religion can play in conflict transformation. This series was designed to create a space for the Jewish and Muslim student communities at CSUN to meet and learn together and was led by Abraham's Vision Educators Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper. Through our methodological approach, each campus community was involved in the planning of the series as equal partners, mutually committed to coming together and exploring one another's faith community while directly discovering the hopes and concerns of the 'other'. With co-sponsorship from various CSUN student groups, we ensured a balance of representation in campus advertising, campus participation, and campus funding. Click here for flyer. Click here for additional photos.

Abraham Joshua Heschel High School
At the end of April, Co-Executive Director Aaron Hahn Tapper was invited to address the Heschel High School's 220-person student body at their monthly Rosh Hodesh (New Month) Assembly. After sharing personal stories with them about how a 13-year Jewish Day School product and former yeshiva student ended up studying Arabic in Egypt, Morocco, and the West Bank and interning with the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hahn Tapper discussed Abraham's Vision in general and the Unity High School program in particular. Thereafter, three of Heschel's Unity students, Sharon Bukspan, Rebecca Katz, and Nessa Geffen, shared their experiences with their fellow students as participants in this innovative interfaith program. After showing the students the Unity program weblog, Bukspan, Katz, and Geffen led a Question and Answer session with the audience. Also in attendance was Co-Program Director and Educator Sajida Jalalzai, who also participated in the Q&A. Click here to see additional photos.

Second World Congress of Imams and Rabbis
In mid-March, four representatives of Abraham's Vision were invited to participate in the Second World Congress of Imams and Rabbis. Co-Executive Director Gibran Bouayad and Unity NYC Educator Yona Shem-Tov joined two Unity NYC students, Jasmine Hamada of the Al-Iman School and Rebecca Katz of the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School. Hamada and Katz were given the opportunity to address various members of the 300-person Congress, imams and rabbis who are among the most prominent in the world. Hamada and Katz used this time to share their transformative experiences as participants in the Unity NYC Program. Click here to see additional photos.

Rotary Club of Newbury Park, CA
In mid-March, Co-Executive Directors Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper met with 35 individuals from the Rotary Club of Newbury Park. In addition to speaking about their personal narratives, including the life experiences that brought them to the work of Abraham's Vision, they also spoke about greater issues involving Jews, Arabs, and Muslims living in our contemporary world. Following this brief lecture, they had a discussion with the participants through a Question and Answer format.

Valley Beth Shalom
In mid-March, Co-Executive Directors Gibran Bouayad and Aaron Hahn Tapper went to Valley Beth Shalom and met with close to 50 participants of the VBS Chazak Adult Education group. Bouayad and Hahn Tapper gave a lecture and discussion on "The Future of Jewish-Muslim Relations." They began with a talk centered on their experiences traveling throughout the world's conflict regions — in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, India, Israel, Jordon, and many more countries — and how these travels have impacted their work with Abraham's Vision. Following this lecture, they had a discussion with the participants through a Question and Answer format.