Itongadol.- With tensions in Jerusalem still extremely high following recent Arab riots at the Temple Mount and in east Jerusalem, several coexistence and interfaith NGOs have called for awareness of the coincidence of Kippur and the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha this year and to respect the sensitivities of both communities.
While Yom Kippur is a day of solemnity, fasting and introspection, Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, is a day of celebration marking Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, often involving the slaughter of animals for eating at celebratory meals.
Both holidays fall this year on Wednesday.
In Islamic tradition, Abraham was about to offer his son Ishmael as a sacrifice, where as the Jewish Bible records that Abraham’s youngest son Isaac was offered.
Due to the markedly different characteristics of the two holidays, misunderstandings have in the past led to riots, notably in 2008 in Acre, between Jewish and Muslim residents.
In order to avert such incidents, the Abraham Fund, a coexistence group, has created a video, which provides explanations in both Hebrew and Arabic, and with English subtitles, about the contrasting nature of the two holidays.
“We will fast, pray, sanctify and respect the day, and we will respect each other,” the video concludes, which was broadcast in schools and museums, and was also used by NGOs, and the Education Ministry.
The Abraham Fund also called on mayors of mixed cities to prepare for the day, ensuring that Yom Kippur observance of fasting and prayer peacefully coincides with Eid Al Adha celebrations, and that both are tolerated by all citizens.
“Yom Kippur and Eid Al-Adha, two holidays that fall on the same day and whose observances are almost opposite, makes it a very sensitive time and can lead to potential conflict and tension between Arabs and Jews,” said Amnon Be\’eri Sulizeanu and Dr. Thabet Abu Ras, Co-CEOs of The Abraham Fund
“Experience from previous years has shown that advance preparation, education and advocacy efforts lead to positive results particularly in mixed cities. We are pleased that stakeholders from these cities chose to adopt The Abraham Fund\’s model and prepared in advance for both holidays.”
Against the background of the recent violence and unrest in Jerusalem, a social media campaign organized by Kids Creating Peace, a coexistence group, was launched in the capital by 100 Israeli and Palestinian youths on Monday, to advance reconciliation and mutual respect between the two peoples and to mark the UN’s International Day of Peace which is observed annually on September 21.
During the campaign, Israeli and Palestinian youths will take “humanity selfies” of themselves, or more precisely, their eyes. According to Kids Creating peace “The ‘humanity selfie’ is actually a close-up image of the eyes, designed to communicate human bonding and the value of judging each person by their personality rather than their physical appearance and the ethnic stereotypes all-too-often associated with it.”
The images will be uploaded to various social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, and to Twitter under the hashtag #IAMHUMANITY, and is designed to be self-perpetuating by having each participant nominating three other individuals – celebrities, opinion leaders or simply relatives or classmates – to upload a “humanity selfie” of their own.
The 14-18 year-old participants from the Palestinian Authority and Israel decided to embark on this campaign after meeting during the course of a binational program operated by Kids Creating Peace, with the assistance of the the US Agency for Development (USAID).
This program included a summer camp attended by some 100 Israeli and Palestinian youth from Bethlehem, Dimona, East and West Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Shoham, among other cities.
President Reuven Rivlin issued a written message for the event saying that to bring change in the relationship between Israel and Palestinians, neither side can indulge in accusing the other of responsibility or in adopting a sense of “holy righteousness,” adding that both sides are responsible for the conflict.
“There are here two nations who focused too little on the past and too much on the future; too much on their sense righteousness, and too little on understanding the story of the other side; too much on false hopes that the other side will disappear and not enough on internalizing that both parties are here to stay.”