Interfaith

conflict, but this conflict is sometimes clothed in religion,” she said. “I think our faith groups can inspire us to do the right thing, to remedy the wrongs, to stand up for justice, to stand up for life.”

Andrea Hodos, associate director of Los Angeles-based NewGround, another Muslim-Jewish partnership, said religion is “not the entire puzzle,” but is a piece of it and that helping people understand these things is important.

Some, she said, are saying, “`How can you just talk right now? People are dying.'” But “if we're not doing our work to help people see one another, we're all going to remain in our silos and it actually makes it more dangerous.”

It's hard for some that the group isn't taking certain positions, Hodos, who is Jewish, said, adding that political action isn't its role.

“We try to get people who have differences of opinion to be able to hear one another.” That way, when they are doing advocacy, they can consider more perspectives and have compassion for their side and the other, she said.

The Kaufman Interfaith Institute held a meeting that highlighted the challenges ahead, said Fred Stella, who is a member of the organization's advisory board.

“People were looking for statements from us,” he said. “The question is, how do you respond to something like this without either offending one of the sides or simply mouthing virtually meaningless platitudes?”

His group has mostly focused on fighting antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate, which has risen during the war. “The only thing I think we in the interfaith community can do … is to continue to remind people of our shared humanity.”

Interfaith advocates say they've also seen bonds — old and new — nurtured.

“Even when people are in deep disagreement, there's a great deal of goodwill and attempts to reach out,” Hodos said. “Not everyone can do it. Some of the groups have just been ... very quiet and I think people have, for now, walked away from the table.”

Others are newcomers. In Teaneck, New Jersey, two high school students and friends — Rawda Elbatrawish, who is Muslim, and Liora Pelavin, who is Jewish — said they organized events for conversations and education on the conflict.

They wanted attendees to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. “The whole point ... was to really understand the other perspective and why someone believes what they do,” said Elbatrawish, who was born in Egypt.

Pelavin — who has relatives in the Israel Defense Forces and a rabbi mom who's been involved with human rights organizations — said some participants lauded the importance of interfaith events and the deeper connections of in-person conversations.

She and Elbatrawish “come from different perspectives,” she said, but both want a cease-fire