Musalaha

Musalaha is a faith-based organization that teaches, trains and facilitates reconciliation mainly between Israelis and Palestinians from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, and also international groups, based on biblical principles of reconciliation. Musalaha's definition of reconciliation is twofold.(1) Restoring Individual and Group Relationships – this means constructively engaging with the other side to allow inner healing to take place, rebuilding trust, and reclaiming one's identity to bless one's neighbor. This includes taking concrete steps towards a more peaceful environment.(2) Addressing Systematic Injustices – this means dealing with the core issues of the conflict and challenging policies, systems, legal structures, etc. that oppress people and cause an imbalance of power, which damages the ability to reconcile. Musalaha's signature method and place that has proven to be most effective for reconcilliation is the in desert. The desert is known for taking people through trials, healing, and transformation. The desert neutralizes the imbalance of power between people and challenges our preconceived ideas about the “other”. For such reasons, Musalaha's first and core program is the Desert Encounter. An average Desert Encounter includes camel treks, jeep rides, reconciliation workshops, facilitated dialogue, and hiking through the desert. Over the years, Musalaha has not limited its projects to the desert and expanded its work with children, women, youth, young adults, civil society leaders, and more. Our theological and philosophical approach to reconciliation has been recognized to be authentic and applicable to other contexts experiencing conflict around the world. Musalaha's reconcilliation model has been applied and taught in the UK, the USA, Germany, India, Northern Ireland, Hong King, and the MENA region.