Oct. 2013 – Yisca Harani and Margaret Karram are from different cultures, religions and experiences. Together, at the Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem, they received the 2013 Mount Zion Award for the work and commitment that they both have shown and still show in their search for dialogue and coming together between cultures and religions.
YISCA HARANI – Winner 2013 Mount Zion Award
“I think education is the primary step to educate for love of differences.”
Yisca was born in Jerusalem in a family of observant Jews. She is an educator and consultant for various ministries of the Israeli government. But for many years, she has above all been the promoter of interreligious initiatives, particularly in schools, with the certainty that only a greater knowledge of others can be the beginning of a different kind of coexistence.
Margaret, an Arab Christian from Haifa: for over thirty years she has been working with the Focolare Movement, she is part of the Episcopal Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of the Assembly of Catholic Priests of the Holy Land and she was one of the main organizers of the International Jewish-Christian Symposium that was held in Jerusalem in 2009.
MARGARET KARRAM – Winner 2013 Mount Zion Award
“It is especially difficult in Jerusalem to find a common ground between two peoples. So, I think our work is to facilitate this and when people meet, whether they are children, youngsters or families, we can truly see that they begin to get to know each other and discover that we really are all the same! Beyond being Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian. We begin to discover that deep down we can all love one another.”
YISCA HARANI – Winner 2013 Mount Zion Award
“In this part of the world, people have preconceived ideas without knowing each other. If people would just search for some other human in the other person, that would be the beginning. It’s very small steps. You just have to believe that you may find a human soul in somebody you call an enemy, a competitor.”
The Mount Zion Award for Reconciliation was founded in 1986 by Wilhelm Salberg, a German priest who died ten years later and it is awarded every other year to individuals or institutions committed to intensifying dialogue and understanding in the Holy Land. This year’s winners especially witnessed how the motivation for true dialogue always starts with a well-established sense of belonging:
MARGARET KARRAM – Winner 2013 Mount Zion Award
“Family played an important role in my life. They truly educated us to be real Christians, to learn and love our enemies and neighbors.”
YISCA HARANI – Winner 2013 Mount Zion Award
“I believe that there are lots of loves in the world and that my love, rooted in my Jewish background and with my Jewish life, is beautiful and I’m not diminishing anyone else’s love, and this is what we should education [people on…]”
A work that continues on…
MARGARET KARRAM – Winner 2013 Mount Zion Award
“To change people’s hearts it takes a lot but it is important to sow and create a new mentality. This is why for me today it is encouraging to move forward and create this new mentality of respect and love toward others and to help each other so that more people can work in this field…it is the only path, I think that will take us toward true peace here.”
Original post published in cmc-terrasanta.org
