Interfaith Encounter Association – Building Peace in the Holy Land and Beyond

Authors: Yehuda Stolov
Conference: 3rd International Dialogue Of Civilization And Tolerance Conference 2026
Keywords: peace, community, religion, encounter, dialogue, Jerusalem, Holy Land.

Abstract

IEA realize that our conflict here is a neighbors’, or even: a family, quarrel. In this kind of dispute the most important element is the relationships. Until the relationships are healed these issues cannot be settled. The challenge of building peace in the Holy Land is the building of inter-communal relations, on the civil-society level, from positive and deep human interactions. Religion has to be involved both due to being a powerful force that should be used for building relations rather than damaging them and to being at the heart of existence and identity, even for non-religious people. IEA formed 136 ongoing groups of interfaith encounter across the Holy Land, leveraging the 7th of October to increase the process through 15 new groups.