WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.000 My name is Rabbi Dr. Dov Maimon. 00:03.000 --> 00:08.000 I'm senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. 00:08.000 --> 00:12.000 I'm in charge of the strategy of Jewish people towards Islam. 00:12.000 --> 00:20.000 And we believe that the relation between Jews and Muslims could be much better than they are today. 00:20.000 --> 00:24.000 Because we want all to be servants of God. 00:24.000 --> 00:30.000 All of us want to be a just and a right society. 00:30.000 --> 00:33.000 We believe that we are all the sons of Abraham. 00:33.000 --> 00:41.000 And it's very clear that God is not happy to see sons fighting together. 00:41.000 --> 00:46.000 We should find a way how to solve problems in non-violent way. 00:46.000 --> 00:51.000 And to work closer together as it happened in the past. 00:51.000 --> 00:55.000 To build a more moral and just society. 00:55.000 --> 00:59.000 And religion in some way could be a force of reconciliation. 00:59.000 --> 01:02.000 Could help the people to be a better society. 01:02.000 --> 01:04.000 It's not the situation today. 01:04.000 --> 01:07.000 Most of people see the rabbis and the imams. 01:07.000 --> 01:11.000 People who are putting oil on the fight everywhere. 01:11.000 --> 01:14.000 And they make a lot of noise and a lot of violence. 01:14.000 --> 01:16.000 But it could be a different way. 01:16.000 --> 01:19.000 So we have to think what was wrong. 01:19.000 --> 01:21.000 How we can make the change. 01:21.000 --> 01:25.000 And hopefully it will work at the end of the day. 01:25.000 --> 01:27.000 It will be a lot of work to do. 01:27.000 --> 01:31.000 Today what we do at Jewish People Policy Institute. 01:31.000 --> 01:37.000 We have a strategy toward Islam based on three different actions. 01:37.000 --> 01:40.000 One is confrontation. 01:40.000 --> 01:44.000 So we are people in Islam who are not very good friends of the Jews. 01:44.000 --> 01:46.000 It's also a part of the game. 01:46.000 --> 01:48.000 And we understand why they are there. 01:48.000 --> 01:53.000 Maybe because the Jews are not holy as we should do. 01:53.000 --> 01:56.000 And maybe we have to work on that too. 01:56.000 --> 02:02.000 The other part is the people who as you are to try to make a reconciliation. 02:02.000 --> 02:05.000 We try to have a good relation together. 02:05.000 --> 02:11.000 And we try to develop such relation and to understand how better we can make it. 02:11.000 --> 02:15.000 And the third place is what we called accommodation. 02:15.000 --> 02:22.000 When the places when you have bad situation that the Jews have to adapt to this situation. 02:22.000 --> 02:31.000 And to mitigate the violence of the things that are not so pleasant to us. 02:31.000 --> 02:34.000 And we try so it depends. 02:34.000 --> 02:40.000 And we see a lot of places today when the Muslims and the Jews are not good friends. 02:40.000 --> 02:42.000 And it could be different. 02:42.000 --> 02:49.000 It's a work that has to be done on education and also on the political diplomacy. 02:49.000 --> 02:55.000 I believe that it's not easy to accept the people who are different from you. 02:55.000 --> 03:04.000 And we know that there are people, normal people don't like people who are different. 03:04.000 --> 03:11.000 And the most important thing is to have a kind of not to be an easy prey for us. 03:11.000 --> 03:16.000 If people want to hate somebody, they will hate somebody else, not to Jews. 03:16.000 --> 03:19.000 We have paid the price for the moment. 03:19.000 --> 03:27.000 So the idea for us is to have a kind of capability of deterrence. 03:27.000 --> 03:32.000 To say that the people who want to hurt the Jews will not let them go with that. 03:32.000 --> 03:36.000 And if people understand that the Jews are not easy prey. 03:36.000 --> 03:40.000 They maybe want to hate other people, but not the Jews. 03:40.000 --> 03:42.000 They will find other people. 03:42.000 --> 03:45.000 And so there is conflict between people. 03:45.000 --> 03:50.000 Where conflict, normal conflict, because of material resources. 03:50.000 --> 03:55.000 People want land, people want resources, want money, want power. 03:55.000 --> 03:57.000 And there is conflict. 03:57.000 --> 03:59.000 But it should not be based on religion. 03:59.000 --> 04:04.000 Religion should be something outside of this kind of political game. 04:04.000 --> 04:06.000 And we have to work on that. 04:06.000 --> 04:09.000 To make the people know better each other. 04:09.000 --> 04:13.000 And to find a way to make a kind of mediation. 04:13.000 --> 04:17.000 And this is the reason people don't like Jews. 04:17.000 --> 04:19.000 Because Jews are just different. 04:19.000 --> 04:22.000 It's not easy to be different from other people. 04:22.000 --> 04:26.000 And where a minority, people don't like minorities everywhere. 04:26.000 --> 04:28.000 So we have minorities in Europe. 04:28.000 --> 04:31.000 And you have minorities in Arabic states. 04:31.000 --> 04:33.000 And minorities in Turkey. 04:33.000 --> 04:36.000 And it's not easy to live with people that are different. 04:36.000 --> 04:42.000 So we have to educate the people toward how you can be yourself. 04:42.000 --> 04:45.000 And accept the other in his otherness. 04:45.000 --> 04:53.000 How you can live in a common society to share the same public space with people who don't share the same dream. 04:53.000 --> 04:55.000 The same societal dream. 04:55.000 --> 04:57.000 The same values. 04:57.000 --> 05:01.000 And it's something which is not self-evident. 05:01.000 --> 05:03.000 It needs to be done. 05:03.000 --> 05:05.000 It's been to work on that. 05:05.000 --> 05:07.000 We have to sit down with people. 05:07.000 --> 05:12.000 And to build a relationship which is easy. 05:12.000 --> 05:14.000 When you have two people together. 05:14.000 --> 05:15.000 Like in the Bible. 05:15.000 --> 05:17.000 Cain and Abel. 05:17.000 --> 05:20.000 Like Kabil and Nabil. 05:20.000 --> 05:22.000 One kills the other. 05:22.000 --> 05:24.000 That's the regular situation. 05:24.000 --> 05:25.000 Because of jealousy. 05:25.000 --> 05:26.000 Yeah. 05:26.000 --> 05:28.000 Because you have competition in some way. 05:28.000 --> 05:29.000 So we have to work on that. 05:29.000 --> 05:35.000 And to overcome this natural thing that we have all in us. 05:35.000 --> 05:39.000 So if we don't use your mental strength. 05:39.000 --> 05:41.000 If you don't use culture. 05:41.000 --> 05:45.000 If you don't use your ability to think. 05:45.000 --> 05:47.000 We are going to fight. 05:47.000 --> 05:48.000 Like in the jungle. 05:48.000 --> 05:50.000 So we have to note. 05:50.000 --> 05:53.000 So the idea is that we have to work on. 05:53.000 --> 05:54.000 On the. 05:54.000 --> 05:55.000 To work. 05:55.000 --> 05:58.000 And to make discussion with the people. 05:58.000 --> 05:59.000 To have dialogue. 05:59.000 --> 06:01.000 And this is what you try to do. 06:01.000 --> 06:03.000 And this is what people have to be more clever. 06:03.000 --> 06:06.000 And we have much less violence than. 06:06.000 --> 06:09.000 Two thousand or three thousand years ago. 06:09.000 --> 06:10.000 So we are improving. 06:10.000 --> 06:12.000 But the way is still very long. 06:12.000 --> 06:16.000 We have to work on two fields. 06:16.000 --> 06:19.000 One is information. 06:19.000 --> 06:23.000 And then to have a mental change in your mind. 06:23.000 --> 06:29.000 And the mental change is made by meeting between people. 06:29.000 --> 06:32.000 So that's the reason we have set up an organization. 06:32.000 --> 06:33.000 Israel Interface Association. 06:33.000 --> 06:36.000 We have 50 group of people who meet every month. 06:36.000 --> 06:40.000 And they try to work together. 06:40.000 --> 06:43.000 About the model I spoke about before. 06:43.000 --> 06:44.000 I mean. 06:44.000 --> 06:45.000 How we can. 06:45.000 --> 06:46.000 Believe. 06:46.000 --> 06:47.000 You be completely confident. 06:47.000 --> 06:48.000 In your own face. 06:48.000 --> 06:49.000 In your own model. 06:49.000 --> 06:51.000 Of life. 06:51.000 --> 06:53.000 And accept that other people. 06:53.000 --> 06:55.000 Do not share the same values. 06:55.000 --> 06:56.000 The same project. 06:56.000 --> 06:57.000 The same face. 06:57.000 --> 06:58.000 I think. 06:58.000 --> 07:00.000 And to go there. 07:00.000 --> 07:02.000 One of the key values. 07:02.000 --> 07:03.000 Is what we call. 07:03.000 --> 07:04.000 Epistemic modesty. 07:04.000 --> 07:06.000 That means that we have to know that. 07:06.000 --> 07:09.000 We don't know what God really wants of us. 07:09.000 --> 07:10.000 We have to say. 07:10.000 --> 07:11.000 Maybe you are right. 07:11.000 --> 07:12.000 Maybe I'm wrong. 07:12.000 --> 07:15.000 So we have to be modest. 07:15.000 --> 07:17.000 We don't have all the picture. 07:17.000 --> 07:20.000 We don't know what God really wants from us. 07:20.000 --> 07:23.000 And if we are in this such situation. 07:23.000 --> 07:25.000 I believe that we can. 07:25.000 --> 07:26.000 We can improve the situation. 07:26.000 --> 07:28.000 But it's a long, long way. 07:28.000 --> 07:30.000 So we have a lot of work to do. 07:30.000 --> 07:31.000 And. 07:31.000 --> 07:32.000 But it's possible. 07:32.000 --> 07:33.000 We see. 07:33.000 --> 07:34.000 We see a result. 07:34.000 --> 07:36.000 People are easy. 07:36.000 --> 07:39.000 It's very easy to destroy everything. 07:39.000 --> 07:40.000 Like in a family. 07:40.000 --> 07:43.000 And it's very long to build. 07:43.000 --> 07:45.000 So we have to work a lot. 07:45.000 --> 07:47.000 About building. 07:47.000 --> 07:49.000 Trusting the people. 07:49.000 --> 07:53.000 Creating meaningful relationship with the people. 07:53.000 --> 07:54.000 And. 07:54.000 --> 07:55.000 And. 07:55.000 --> 07:56.000 Continue. 07:56.000 --> 07:57.000 Keep trying. 07:57.000 --> 07:58.000 Keep trying. 07:58.000 --> 08:00.000 That's the most important thing. 08:00.000 --> 08:02.000 I'm happy that you come here. 08:02.000 --> 08:03.000 To Jerusalem. 08:03.000 --> 08:05.000 I think it's a good idea that you come. 08:05.000 --> 08:06.000 And. 08:06.000 --> 08:07.000 Be part of. 08:07.000 --> 08:09.000 The big program that we try to launch. 08:09.000 --> 08:10.000 In Israel. 08:10.000 --> 08:14.000 Israel could be normally a light for the nation. 08:14.000 --> 08:15.000 We should. 08:15.000 --> 08:17.000 We could have very. 08:17.000 --> 08:18.000 Much better relation. 08:18.000 --> 08:19.000 In the Middle East. 08:19.000 --> 08:20.000 If people go. 08:20.000 --> 08:21.000 And. 08:21.000 --> 08:22.000 Try to. 08:22.000 --> 08:23.000 Keep from the. 08:23.000 --> 08:24.000 Other people. 08:24.000 --> 08:25.000 The good things. 08:25.000 --> 08:26.000 Instead of fighting. 08:26.000 --> 08:27.000 All the time. 08:27.000 --> 08:28.000 And identity. 08:28.000 --> 08:29.000 We have to go. 08:29.000 --> 08:31.000 Get rid of. 08:31.000 --> 08:32.000 Of. 08:32.000 --> 08:33.000 The fear. 08:33.000 --> 08:34.000 We have to get rid of. 08:34.000 --> 08:35.000 All what we have. 08:35.000 --> 08:37.000 It's a lot of work to be done. 08:37.000 --> 08:38.000 To be done. 08:38.000 --> 08:39.000 Thank you very much. 08:39.000 --> 08:40.000 Thank you very much. 08:40.000 --> 08:51.000 Thank you. 08:51.000 --> 08:52.000 Thank you.