Goals & Rationale

The overall goal of this program is to lower hatred, reduce despair and increase levels of mutual understanding, for a cooperative joint future for Israelis and Palestinians within Israel. 

Our vision is for Arab and Jewish teens from the Jerusalem area to play football together, thereby learning about each other's cultures and religions and serving as a personal example of peaceful co-existence. The program will facilitate a multicultural, interreligious experience for a group of Arab and Jewish teenage boys in getting to know each other through competitive sports, building social relationships, and developing trust, tolerance and mutual understanding. Through participation in organized league tournaments and other activities, these teens will help spread the hope and the message of peaceful coexistence to other teams in the league. In addition, they will serve as personal examples in their high school communities and will be the program's best recruiters for future years.

Project Description

FAITH is working through the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish, Director.  We are jointly working towards the goal of creating an innovative peace education program combining sports, social activities and dialogue. Still in its first stages, KickStart Peace begins with 20 participants, divided between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews.

Two facilitators, a Jew and an Arab, will be hired to facilitate team members in getting to know one another on a deeper and more personal level, as well as getting to know each other's religions, cultures and values and engaging in meaningful discussion and dialogue. Planned activities include facilitated trust-building games, interreligious discussions, joint meals and visits to each other's communities.  This year, the team will be take part in football tournaments on a regular basis, thereby spreading the message of multiculturalism and peaceful coexistence, by virtue of the fact that they will be the only Arab-Jewish team in this league.

Why a Coexistence Sports Program?

Participation in sports activities as a teenager has multiple advantages, and good coaches and educators use athletics as an extension of the classroom, teaching lessons that could not be taught in a typical classroom setting.  For example:

Teamwork and trust: Working together in a group in order to achieve goals is an important lesson for later life.  In addition, participation in sports builds trust and a healthy competitive spirit.

Advanced planning: Sports can teach young people the advantages of planning your moves rather than acting impulsively.

Health:One of the biggest benefits for teens to be involved insports is that it keeps them active and healthy.

Friendship: Participation in this program will provide young people with new friendships.  Team members spend so much time during practice and at games that they can become very close friends, almost like a second family.

Muslim/Christian/Jewish Partnership –

The tripartite partnership is among St. Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation of the Church of England, Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the East London Mosque/London Muslim Centre.  Based on successful and well-attended lay dialogues and lectures in 2011, more lay Muslim/Christian/Jewish dialogues are planned for 2012, all held at the London Muslim Centre, and catered by them.  In addition, a scholars’ conference primarily for imams, rabbis, and vicars is being planned.  The goal is that by 2013, the mosque will have its own interfaith centre, relating to St. Ethelburga’s and an interfaith centre for interfaith dialogue and action at Liberal Judaism.  The partnership will then be a function of all three working together.  FAITH initiates and facilitates the programmes in this tripartite relationship, and helps all three institutions raise funds among their constituents.

Combat interfaith prejudice, Islamaphobia, Anti-Semitism and Anti-Christianity

In 2011, FAITH spearheaded the composition and passage of resolutions condemning Islamaphobia, and pledging partnership to Muslims in combating Islamic terrorism.  Also, FAITH initiated programs in over 40 countries to make the Tenth Anniversary of 9-11 an international day of interfaith reconciliation.  In 2012, FAITH continues to serve as a watchdog against expressions of interfaith bigotry, regardless of the perpetrator or regardless of the victim.  Islamaphobia, Anti-Semitism, and Anti-Christianity are common enemies to all of the adherents of the Abrahamic religions.  Any attack on any is an attack on all.  Similarly, bigotry against Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Janes, or any other faith is an attack on all humanity, created in God’s image, and sanctified in infinite diversity by God’s creation.