Allied Forces

High school junior Ezra Beinart founded an initiative that invites Palestinians to speak with young American Jews via video chat. The goal of the project, which has hosted six speakers so far, is to introduce Jewish teenagers to perspectives on Israel-Palestine that they may not be exposed to within their communities.

The Interfaith Mediation Centre trains residents in regions stricken by religious conflict between Christians and Muslims to become Community Peace Observers who promote a culture of non-violence and intervene in potential conflict using targeted communication techniques. The effort has led communities to form their own task forces, committees, and forums around peacekeeping, and Christians and Muslims there now commingle through community events and institutions after years of strict separation.

The Interfaith Mediation Center trained two groups of 30 Muslim and Christian women in two areas of Kaduna as a pilot project putting women at the center of the work needed to understand and prevent religion-motivated violence. Dozens have died in these areas. Even though women often are the victims, they usually are excluded from peacemaking work. The women committed to live peacefully and then went door to door to meet others in the community for bridge-building dialogues, which some said was a unique and transformative experience for them.

Recognizing the Stranger is a faith-based program that provides support and mentorship to immigrant leaders with the goal of building bridges between immigrant and nonimmigrant communities. The initiative has helped immigrants in the church organize "know your rights" events, advocate for expanded tax credits for undocumented workers, and roll out parish ID cards amid a rise in deportations.

Through the "Meet a Jew" program launched by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Jewish volunteers visit schools, universities, sports clubs, and religious centers to share their stories with non-Jewish Germans and combat growing antisemitism. The initiative held 540 sessions in 2021 to facilitate conversations about what it means to be Jewish and how Jews fit into German society.

Many religious institutions have to come up with creative ways to "congregate" amidst the coronavirus breakout and strict quarantine restrictions around the country. From drive-through confession to virtual Shabbat, congregations find a way to practice their faith, despite questions about the morality of practicing without an in-person community.

Benebikira 'Sister Listeners' offer informal counseling to both victims and perpetrators of violence during the Rwanda genocide, seeking to forge a bridge of understanding. Their roles as listeners are especially important during the annual anniversary of the genocide.

In Uganda, religious leaders and anti-gay individuals have been very vocal against the LGBTI community and have disowned many LGBTI religious leaders. This has led some of these leaders to publicly come out and advocate for others and speak of their own experiences, showing the possibility of being LGBTI and religious.

Grassroots organizations are helping Palestinians and Israelis to meet and discuss their experiences with each other, often for the first time. Ali Abu Awwad, a Palestinian, co-runs one of these groups with two Israeli settlers. He describes their center is a place where “the enemy is transformed into a neighbor,” a process he says must happen before lasting political solutions to the conflict can be reached.

The Rekindle Fellowship aims to bring Black and Jewish people together to help strengthen allyship and encourage dialogue between the communities, with learning sessions that delve into the history and experiences of both demographics and their intersections. The organization now has 20 chapters across the country and graduates of the fellowship report feeling empowered to address hatred against and advocate for each other in their communities.