Interfaith event to support Muslims in St. Anthony for building an Islamic center

Three churches in St. Anthony plan to hold an interfaith gathering Sunday between Christian and Muslim leaders in response to anti-Islamic comments made at a City Council meeting during which board members rejected a proposed Islamic center.

Members of Nativity Lutheran Church, Faith United Methodist Church and St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church organized the event in an effort to show that not all citizens in the small bedroom community north of Minneapolis are against Muslims worshiping there.

http://www.startribune.com/local/161389585.html

Interfaith Consultation Planned in Jerusalem

UPF will hold an Interfaith Consultation for Peace and Development in the Middle East in Jerusalem from August 25 to 28. High-level religious leaders, scholars, and  interfaith activists from throughout the world will be in attendance, including people of faith who hold positions in government, the media, the private sector, and civil society.

A special segment of the program will be dedicated to building upon and honoring the spirit of the 2012 celebration at the United Nations of the World Interfaith Harmony Week that had as its theme, “Common Ground for the Common Good.” A wide range of interfaith organizations and faith-based organizations, along with diplomats and UN officials, participated in support of the initiative taken up by the Office of the President of the General Assembly.

http://www.upf.org/upf-news/141-africa-middle-east/4562-interfaith-consultation-planned-in-jerusalem

Israeli activists and Palestinian children share the beach

There’s laughter and a happy mix of voices, chatting away in Hebrew and Arabic. It’s yom yam, Hebrew for beach day.

Every summer, a group of Israeli women organise beach trips for Palestinian kids from towns and villages across the West Bank. For most children, it is their first time to visit the beach and swim in the dark blue Mediterranean waters.

Back home, some families can see the sea from their balconies, but cannot go there due to Israeli travel restrictions. During the second intifada in the early 2000s, Israel applied stringent travel restrictions on Palestinians wishing to cross from the West Bank into Israel for security reasons. Many travel limitations are still in place, separating Palestinians and Israelis from each other.

http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=31627&lan=en&sp=0