36th IARF Congress, Day 3: Faith-Based Encounters and Re-Humanizing the Other by Rabbi Bob Carroll

Description

Rabbi Bob Carroll presents the Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA) as a model of grassroots peacebuilding in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Founded during the second intifada, IEA uses sustained face-to-face religious encounter to replace stereotypes with direct knowledge of the other. Carroll describes groups involving Jews, Muslims, Christians, settlers and Palestinians, as well as clergy, young people and health professionals. A personal story about his friendship with Palestinian peace activist Talib al-Shariti illustrates the trust that can grow through years of repeated meetings even under political pressure and personal risk.

The heart of the presentation is IEA’s dialogue methodology. Religious identity and sacred texts are used as a starting point because they open deeper questions of meaning and shared values, while overt political argument is initially postponed until relationships are strong enough to withstand disagreement. Carroll summarizes practical guidelines: speak only for yourself, never assume another person’s beliefs, avoid generalizations and personal attacks, use “I” statements, listen actively, allow people to define their own identities, understand texts through living traditions, and prohibit proselytizing. He argues that religion can intensify nationalism and conflict, but can also provide the human infrastructure of trust without which political peace agreements cannot endure.