Hamilton Books
Pages: 210
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7618-6933-7 • Paperback • August 2017 • $40.99 • (£35.00)
978-0-7618-6934-4 • eBook • August 2017 • $38.50 • (£30.00)
Ronald Kronish is one of the leaders in the field of interreligious dialogue in Israel and internationally. Founding Director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, he served in this position for a quarter century, earning an excellent reputation for his courageous leadership and pioneering programs. An author of articles and op-eds in many newspapers, magazines and journals, and the editor of numerous publications, he blogs regularly for The Times of Israel and The Huffington Post, and his posts are read widely around the world.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: My Personal Journey
1. The Context—Peacemaking and Peacebuilding
2. Palestinian Arab Identity—Religious and Cultural Diversity
3. Engaging with the Vatican
4. Interreligious Dialogue in Israel as a Form of Peacebuilding—the Development of a New
5. On Interreligious Dialogue in Israel—Lessons Learned and Thoughts for the Future
Bibliography
Index
The reader cannot but admire his faith, tenacity and dedication, and his refusal to let go of his quest for peaceful coexistence, despite what he describes as the despair among people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ‘My response to this – and the answer shared by many of my colleagues in Israel – is that we must not lose faith and give up!’ he insists. Of the many great stories in this book, one of my favorites is his role in the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Israel in 2000 at the peak of a revolution in Catholic-Jewish relations. His description of the pontiff’s prayer at the Western Wall, touching the stones, and placing a note in a crack in which he asks God for forgiveness is incredibly moving. Kronish established good relationships with a wide range of religious figures – Jews, Christians and Muslims of many denominations, and others, including the Dalai Lama, whom he had the honor of hosting in Israel.
— The Jerusalem Report
The Other Peace Process is a goldmine of practical information learned within Israel and from similar collaborative interreligous efforts in Northern Ireland and the global network Religions for Peace. But from the perspective of this newsletter, we especially value Rabbi Kronish’s reporting on his work with AFR and International Abrahamic Network (IAN) colleagues like Jerusalem Professor Mohammed Dajani Daudi, founder of the Wasatia movement of centrist Islam, and Kadi Dr. Iyad Zahalka the chief judge of the Sharia courts of the State of Israel, whom we have met several times. He also cites the pioneering interreligious work of Jerusalem’s Rabbi Michael Melchior, with whom we have also worked and may be the closest person to Jewish sainthood if there is such a thing. The Other Peace Process should be on the desk of every official and Track Two peacemaker for Israel-Palestine. It is a basic reference work for all of us.
— Abrahamic Family Reunion
[T]he richness and value of this narrative comes from his sharing the learnings about authentic and meaningful dialogue gained from his several decades of organizing interreligious encounters as director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel. He exhibits a contemporary understanding of how such encounters need to operate with his strong insistence on use of social media as part of their process…. Kronish presents a detailed and from my own experience a realistic assessment of the difficulties and pitfalls of generating lasting interreligious understanding and collaboration…. The volume also includes a very useful bibliography (including in the extensive footnotes). This bibliography can prove quite useful for anyone who wishes to go more in depth regarding the Israeli-Palestinian relationship…. I have profited greatly from my reading of this volume Others I believe who take it up will enjoy a similar experience.
— Profiles in Catholicism
When it comes to peace between Israel and Palestine and to relations among Jews, Muslim, and Christians, no one is more qualified than Dr. Ron Kronish to give us direction and—most important—to give us hope. Dr. Kronish has devoted his life to the proposition that leaders of the Abrahamic traditions can strengthen each other, inspire one another, and promote the values of love, justice, and peace that are common to each of our faiths. For more than 25 years, he has done the hard work of bringing Jews, Muslims, and Christians together, and encouraging us all to proclaim that we will not permit fanaticism to grow or prejudice to harden. His message, now more than ever, must be heeded: In Israel/Palestine, he tells us, and around the world, the children of Abraham must reclaim their common heritage and find a common path.
— Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President Emeritus, Union for Reform Judaism, writer and speaker
A seasoned dialogue-partner with Muslims and Christians, Rabbi Kronish here shares his experience building relations with Palestinian Arabs in Israel, East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Territories. This memoir of peace-building is also a program others can follow to supplement the high-profile politics of peace-making. The program centers on a four-step process of transformative dialogue, interreligious education, discussion of core issues and joint action. I know the process works, because Rabbi Kronish has been modelling it for years in my own interfaith friendship with him. This book will spread the peace further among Jews and Muslims, Arabs and Israelis, Palestinian and Jewish Israelis.
— Imam Feisal Rauf, Founder and Chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, author and interreligious activist
I can’t imagine a more necessary reminder coming at this moment than Rabbi Ron Kronish’s new book, The Other Peace Process. When legal, diplomatic and political interventions around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are stalled, Rabbi Kronish lifts up examples where real people engage in interreligious dialogue, education and shared action to make change. From his own well-lived life, Kronish offers hope that though the work of justice and peace is a long game, it is worth it and will, in the end, succeed.
— Rev. Katharine Henderson, PhD, President, Auburn Seminary