Students and adults gathered at the Best Western hotel on Friday, Nov. 17 for a dialogue Shabbat dinner organized by OneVoice. The event was to be held initially at Concordia University’s Hall building, but the venue was changed last minute, according to the e-mail, “in order to protect our students.�
OneVoice describes itself as

a grassroots movement that has taken a bold approach to engaging Palestinians and Israelis in greater civic involvement. OneVoice works to reframe the conflict, transcending the “left” vs. “right” and “Israeli vs. Palestinian” paradigms and revealing that the moderate majority can prevail over the absolutist vision of an extremist minority, which so often succeeds in derailing the peace process.

The evening began with an introduction from the head of Concordia Hillel, followed by a free traditional Shabbat dinner. After the meal, Miriam Asnes, a representative from OneVoice, led dialogues between an Israeli and Palestinian youth. After they presented their personal situations, a question and answer period with audience members followed. There was a large turnout for the event, as the Palestinian and Israeli speakers presented powerful, inspiring, and distressing stories.