A few months ago in Latrun, a hilltop located 15 kilometers west of Jerusalem, you might have seen a crowd.  You might have noticed colorful tents, heard laughing and singing, and later that day saw a few hundred people sitting in a circle with their eyes closed.  You might have seen other things: an Israeli woman cooking.  A man with a yamaka adjusting a tent pole.   A baby playing in the lap of an African sitting next to a young guy with blond dreadlocks. A Christmas tree.  Girls sewing.  A man sitting along under a tree reading a Buddhist text.

This was the most recent annual gathering of the Sulha Peace Project, a grassroots organization dedicated to encouraging peace among the varying ethnic groups in Jerusalem through mediation. Founded in 2001 by Israeli musician Gabriel Meyer and Palestianian activist Elias Jabbour,  founder of famous peace organization The House of Hope and author of the book: Sulha - Towards a Palestinian Way of Peacemaking, the organization has since gained the attention of the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu. Through “listening circles, multi-cultural workshops, sacred interfaith rituals, shared meals, and the Arts” and drawing from Arab and Jewish traditions, the organization has spawned annual retreats in addition to local chapters and youth camps.  Though aiming for peace among the Children of Abraham (Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Israelis, and Palestinians), the organization is open to anyone who shares this goal regardless of race, color, sex, age, ethnic background, and religion.

According to Meyer, the first gathering drew 150 adults and 15 children and celebrated “Chanukkah, Christmas, and Ramadan in Chan Amirei Hagalil. It was a deep and heartfelt encounter. We, Jews, cooked the iftar breakfast meal of Ramadan and Christian and Muslim Arabs lit our Chanukkah candles after a moving listening circle that lasted the whole day.”

Since then, the participants have increased along with the nationalities, religious beliefs, and countries represented.  The routine has also been refined, and this year’s gathering followed this schedule over the course of three days:

• Morning: “Heart opening” of deep trauma, pain and hopes on a personal level in listening circles.
• Afternoon: Experiential and theoretical workshops, study of each other’s culture on a national, religious and ethnic level.
• Sunset: Interfaith prayers and rituals rooted in the different traditions.
• Evening: Arts, Music and Dance - Integration of emotional and intellectual dimensions experienced throughout the day. Celebration of our two people through the Arts as a mean for healing and transformation.

Other Sulha divsions target the youth, families, and local communities: Sulhita Youth Project provides leadership camps, multi-cultural workshops, interfaith prayers, cooking, dancing, and arts activities.  Local Sulha Day is a “day-long gathering which takes place within a local or regional community, similar in content to the annual On the Way to Sulha gathering, combined with local content generated by community members.”  Small bi-monthly gatherings in local communities, known as “Sulha family meetings,” are designed to encourage members to express themselves who may not yet feel comfortable doing so during the massive annual gatherings.

According to Rabbi Brant Rosen’s website, “Sulha is an Arabic term that refers to a traditional Islamic form of third-party conflict mediation. According to this tradition, clans involved in a dispute will sit down opposite one another with a mediator and arrive at a mutually acceptable compromise. (Notably enough, the three-letter root of sulha, S’L'H, comes from the same root as the Hebrew word that means “to forgive.’)”

Want to get involved and live in New York City?  You’re in luck - in a few weeks, the first annual Sulha Benefit Concert for Peace will be held at the Church of St. Paul and St. Mary on 86th and Broadway.   The concert will feature Sulha’s co-founder Gabriel Meyer Halevy and a group of ethnically and religiously diverse musicians and speakers from all over the world including actress Debra Winger, Rumi poetry expert Coleman Barks, Oscar-nominated actor and Broadway producer Ronald Guttman, and world-renowned musicians Hassan Hakmoun, Vishal Vaid and Karsh Kale.

Sulha Benefit Concert for Peace

Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008
Doors: 6PM
Event: 7PM
Location: The Church of St. Paul & St. Mary
Address: 263 West 86th Street, New York, NY 10024
Tickets: $45 in advance | $50 Day of Show | $100 VIP
Buy tickets at sulha.tix.com or call: (866) 468.7619