https://youtu.be/tBeGyQfRmig
PEACE with Penny SEASON 3: Part I Khalil Sayegh & Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger of Roots-Shorashim-Judur, MARCH 20, 2022
This is a special episode of PEACE with Penny. We were granted permission to attend and record an event held recently at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. So, this episode won’t be an interview, but a presentation in Part I called, “Two Truths in One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land,” led by two amazing speakers, Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Khalil Sayegh.
On PEACE with Penny, we’ve interviewed many Peace activists who work with Roots-Shorashim-Judur, an extremely encouraging and ground-breaking organization, as well as many other Israeli and Palestinian organizations who work on Peace together.
This episode will be presented in two parts for ease of viewing, because the original event lasted over two hours. Part I, is the speakers’ presentation of One Heart; Two Peoples in One Land,” and Part II, is the question and answer period.
PEACE with Penny would like to thank the sponsors of the event for allowing us to share this important event with you. They are: The Rose Project of Jewish Federation of Orange County, Orange County Interfaith Network, The Jewish Collaborative of Orange County and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Penny S. Tee has known Rabbi Hanan since 2015, and he was the first Peace activist she met along with Ali Abu Awwad, co-founders of Roots-Shorashim-Judur, a Peace organization of Israeli settlers & Palestinians. It is a grassroots initiative for understanding, nonviolence and transformation. They had met just after her family’s fateful 2014 trip that she says changed her life, touring incredible sacred sights, and running to and hiding in bomb shelters. Missiles exploding overhead, has a way of getting your attention. It’s what her book, “BLASTED from Complacency: A Journey from Terror to Transformation in Israel,” is about.
Both Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Ali Abu Awwad are in her book, and their background will surprise you. Rabbi Hanan is an orthodox, rabbi, settler who lives in the West Bank, and today, in 2022, 8 years later, he has many Palestinian colleagues—but before 2014, that wasn’t the case. Even though he lived minutes from Palestinians—and even his gardener was Palestinian, he like most Israelis, had never had any meaningful conversations with Palestinians. Their lives are lived adjacent, yet segregated.
Ali Abu Awwad is a Palestinian, and both he and his mother were in Israeli jails for battling what they call the occupation. Rabbi Hanan and Ali have known each other for years now. Could a Palestinian and a settler actually become friends? 2014 changed their lives as well.
Thankfully, there are many Jewish Israelis and Palestinians who work on Peace together, we just don’t hear about them in the news. Reporting seems to follow the old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Oy. That’s the purpose of PEACE with Penny, we interview Israelis and Palestinians working together on Peace. Our mission is to get the word out about these dedicated people, and provide hope that Peace, between Israelis and Palestinians, is possible. If you’d like to help, please contact PEACE with Penny at Penny@PennySTee.com
For today’s talk, Rabbi Hanan brought another Palestinian partner with him, Khalil Sayegh, a Gaza-born Palestinian from a refugee family who grew up with deep anger towards Israel and its people. Confused? A Jewish Israeli and another Christian Palestinian working together on Peace? Something that seems to have been forgotten in this conflict is that you don’t have to agree politically, to behave civilly toward one another.
The last time Rabbi Hanan was interviewed on PEACE with Penny, it was almost a year ago. The tragic circumstances of the Lag B’Omer disaster where 45 people were killed and 150 wounded during a celebration had just happened, and Palestinian missiles had been recently launched, terrorist shootings, stabbings and riots, were in the news, unfortunately, similar to much of what continues today, and we were in the mood to hear something positive, and Rabbi Hanan delivered. You can listen to our interview here. We think you will find the presentation inspiring, perhaps sometimes challenging, and a breath of fresh air.
We hope you will continue listening to PEACE with Penny, as a source of inspiration and hope. We show you that many Israelis and Palestinians, probably the majority, do want Peace with one another. Unfortunately, it’s the extremists that make the news.
We pray that some day All will live in Peace, שלום and سلام.