MidEast Citizen Diplomacy

Children of Abraham Educational Project

Jews and Palestinians are ancient peoples of the Middle East who trace their history back to the same ancestor, Abraham. Today both peoples share a common dream: to live in peace in their homeland. Yet both claim the same land as their home. How can this dream become reality? How can enemies become friends?

Reconciliation - restoring harmony between those who have been set against each other - comes about slowly, through learning to listen and understand one another. This is the goal of the Children of Abraham Educational Project, a new project of Mid-East Citizen Diplomacy. Founded in 2000 by Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Children of Abraham project staff are available to:

Provide educational programs in the community on Jewish - Palestinian peace-making and reconciliation;
Lead trainings and workshops in Compassionate Listening as a tool for reconciliation;
Lead interfaith dialogue sessions for schools, religious institutions, community groups and universities.
Present the documentary video "Children of Abraham", a chronicle of a 1998 Compassionate Listening delegation of American Jewish adults and youth. This 35-minute film introduces our Compassionate Listening reconciliation model and humanizes each Israeli and Palestinian portrayed.

Children of Abraham Youth Delegations

Our first Children of Abraham Youth Delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories will take place in July, 2001. Each delegation will include North Americans aged 16-25 from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. Delegations begin with an intensive training in Compassionate Listening as a tool for reconciliation. Participants learn to see through the masks of hostility and fear, and to understand people whose views are very different than our own.

Participants will then spend two weeks listening to and living with Israelis and Palestinians - including political and religious leaders as well as private citizens throughout Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Children of Abraham delegations will include a special emphasis on Israeli and Palestinian youth. We will find ways to support those already engaged in dialogue and reconciliation work, and help out with work projects.

Compassionate Listening is a tool for reconciliation developed by author and international peace-maker Gene Knudsen-Hoffman. The practice draws on wisdom from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions for resolving conflicts, and teaches us to seek the truth of the other person's experience by listening with a non-judgmental, non-adversarial attitude.

Children of Abraham Youth Delegations will include conflict resolution training and leadership skill building.
Children of Abraham Staff
Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Director, Children of Abraham Educational Project uses Jewish tools for self-understanding and conflict resolution in her work as a teacher, counselor, and facilitator of interfaith dialogue. The mother of four teen-agers, she is the author of Life on Earth: A Teen's Guide to Jewish Living; Karov L'chol Korav: For All Who Call; and Conscious Community, A Guide to Inner Work.
Amy Leos-Urbel, Educational Program Coordinator, holds masters degrees in Education and Counseling. She works with both youth and adults around issues of diversity and social justice, and leads workshops for Jews, Gentiles, and interfaith groups.

Trip Applications

ContactRabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener