History
Musalaha Academy’s history is built on a legacy of reconciliation, education, and faith-based leadership. Rooted in the vision of Musalaha—meaning “reconciliation” (مصالحة) in Arabic—it—has fostered reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians since 1990. The Academy continues this mission by equipping individuals with tools for meaningful dialogue, peacebuilding, and cross-cultural understanding. This page highlights key milestones and the Academy’s impact.
Musalaha, (مصالحة)
which means “Reconciliation”
in Arabic
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,
which means “Reconciliation”
in Arabic
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.
Principles for reconciliation
Musalaha was founded in 1990. Since its inception, an Executive Board of Palestinian and Israeli community leaders has led the organisation by promoting, facilitating, and teaching reconciliation and unity within our society and internationally.
Our history
1990: Bridging Divides: The Beginnings of Musalaha in a Time of Conflict
Musalaha was founded in Jerusalem by a Palestinian Christian Professor, Salim J. Munayer. As a professor in Jaffa (Tel Aviv) for Israelis and in Bethlehem for Palestinians, his students confronted him with existential questions and misunderstandings both groups had about their respective “other”. The first meetings between the students, and later between religious leaders, was a complete failure. 1990 marked the time of the First Intifada or “First Uprising” in Israel and Palestine, commonly remembered as a time of great fear, instability, and violence.
1991: Musalaha’s first groups
Israeli and Palestinian groups showed patterns; although there was excitement, curiosity to meet the “other side”, the moment core issues were put on the table, the conversations fell apart. The “other” challenges the essence of your ideology, of your self-perception, and your ethnic and religious identity, leaving individuals in utter shock and denial. Your situational, economic, political and social context affects your ability to reconcile, and power dynamics have a great influence in reconciliation. Great gaps in motivations, expectations, understanding of the nature of conflict, were detected when approaching root issues to the conflict, far beyond general “spoilers” to conflict.
1991: Musalaha’s “Historical Narrative”
Narratives in Israel and Palestine are created and manipulated to be “zero-sum” or “either-or”, meaning that only one group can exist, and this group can only exist at the demise of the other. Musalaha leadership understood that individuals must learn about the other’s narrative, face the shortcomings and untruths in their own narrative, and learn to understand what in their narrative encourages dehumanization, racism, and violence.
Musalaha’s Curriculum leads groups to build a third narrative, guiding all groups to reimagine a joint future together, not only socially, but also in a structural economic, policial, and religious context. In the process of creating this third narrative, we must face our trauma, deal with forgiveness, with memory.
Musalaha’s Curriculum leads groups to build a third narrative, guiding all groups to reimagine a joint future together, not only socially, but also in a structural economic, policial, and religious context. In the process of creating this third narrative, we must face our trauma, deal with forgiveness, with memory.
1992: Musalaha’s First Desert Encounter
To address power imbalances that hinder reconciliation, and to help with the process of reimagining a third narrative, Musalaha introduced the “Desert Encounters”. The desert creates an opportunity in space and time to humanize the “other” and minimize structures of inequality and power. The Desert Encounters severely decrease the number of individuals that withdraw from the process of reconciliation. The relationship building and the humanization process that both began in the desert continue to impact and enable individuals to enter difficult and sensitive conversations.
2000: new conflict analysis
Musalaha introduced the term of settler colonialism into its Stage 2 “Opening Up” workshops and adds the chapter of “Conflict Analysis” to its Curriculum of Reconciliation. Both the oppressed and oppressor must speak truth and correctly analyze the conflict to better comprehend their own role, narrative, and identity within said conflict. Only when the conflict is correctly defined, matters of accountability and transformation can be addressed.
This definition became especially essential after the failure of the Oslo Accords, as it became clear that colonial peace plans are not workable or just.
This definition became especially essential after the failure of the Oslo Accords, as it became clear that colonial peace plans are not workable or just.
2006: Children Summer Camps
Musalaha celebrates its first edition Summer Camp, offering a unique, safe, and playful platform for Israeli and Palestinian children to begin relationships and humanize one another. This camp instills values of reconciliation, humanity, acceptance, and tolerance from a young age onwards, affecting the young generations’ decisions later in life, when pursuing an education and when deciding whether to join the army or not.
2019: Musalaha and Civil Society Leaders
Musalaha introduces projects that focus on Stage 6 “Taking Action”, experimenting with strategies of co-advocacy. Individuals in these projects have already gone through the process of reconciliation and are community and civil society leaders. Musalaha includes “Freedom of Religion and Belief” as one of its core human rights principles.
2022: Musalaha leadership and staff
Musalaha has a new Executive Director, bringing structural change to Musalaha’s operations and programs. The team expands and reconciliation is introduced to new areas in Israel and Palestine. Musalaha’s new Executive Director speaks in front of the United Nations Security Council about Musalaha’s Curriculum of Reconciliation, Freedom of Religion and Belief, and reconciliation.
2024: Nonviolent Co-Resistance
After October 7, 2023, the status quo changed and continues to change on a weekly basis, with deteriorating violence. Musalaha decided that “non-violent co-resistance” is the just response to segregation, fascism, separation, colonial fragmentation of societies, language, culture, power imbalances and oppression. Annually, Musalaha leads 8 local Israeli and Palestinian groups to create and implement community outreaches, addressing priority needs in the best interest of both communities, while co-advocating for a just peace.
