Dinner held to encourage dialogue

  MICHAEL MANTEL Sanaz Razi (left) and
Hala Attia dine and promote better understanding
between the Jewish and Muslim cultures.

By Roopa Raman
Daily Bruin Contributor

Fourth-year political science Muslim student Fadi Amer remembers
hearing his grandparents’ experiences about the 1948
Arab-Israeli war: They were among the hundreds of thousands of
refugees that fled Israel for Jordan. They had only intended to
stay in Jordan a few days with Amer’s aunt, but their stay
extended to 50 years.

With the connection he feels toward members of his ethnicity,
Amer wanted to became involved in easing tensions on campus that
have resulted from international conflicts between Muslims and
Jews.

“I made a commitment to try to do something,” Amer
said. “You start at the micro-level with things you know you
can affect.”

Amer helped organize an “iftar” ““ a meal after
fasting ““ signifying the end of Ramadan, a religious period
usually occurring in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar that
emphasizes self-control, devotion to God and inner-reflection.
Observers fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining from food, drink,
smoking and sex during the fasting hours.

About 60 students, including those with an Islamic or Jewish
background, gathered for Thursday’s social Middle Eastern
dinner at the UCLA School of Law.

Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, the spiritual leader of Hillel, a
student-centered Jewish organization, said students from both
religions can appreciate each other.

“This taps into a student interest and student need to
cross boundaries and reach toward each other,¨ he said.

Before dinner, Seidler-Feller acknowledged that Jews observe Yom
Kippur, a celebration similar to Ramadan based on themes such as
purification and spiritual reflection.

“One of the pillars of Islam is linked to one of the
pillars of Judaism,” he said. “We need to see religion
as a force for binding us together. It’s a game of balance
how to understand that we’re similar and
different.”

Johnathan Razbannia, a fourth-year political science student and
member of Hillel, said he attended Thursday’s dinner because
he wanted to be in solidarity with other students, especially
considering conflict that is prevalent around the world.

“I wanted to be one with everyone with all of the strife
and political turmoil (going on),” he said.

This past weekend, 25 people died and nearly 200 were wounded
after a series of suicide bombings hit Israel, according to the
Associated Press. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has promised to
take harsh actions against Islamic militants.

Last winter, Amer began examining the relationship between
Muslim and Jewish students at UCLA and said he finally realized
there has not been productive dialogue between the groups.

Campus discussions involving Palestinians and Israeli students
tended to split the groups into victims and oppressors, he
said.

“People need to sit down in a civil way and say,
“˜This is what I think needs to be done,'” he
said.

Seidler-Feller contacted Amer last winter and introduced him to
students also interested in discussing issues relevant to the
communities.

Members of the United Arab Society, Jewish Student Union and
Hillel who were active in the dialogues enrolled in a sociology
class offered last winter, titled “Perspectives on
Confrontation and Reconciliation in the Arab-Israel
Conflict,” Amer said.

Students from the three organizations began meeting under the
name “Coalition for Co-Existence in the Middle East”
during the spring.

Student expression further exposes the root of religious and
ethnic conflicts and increases understanding of how students’
thoughts and opinions have been shaped as a result, said third-year
political science student Benjamin Nabati, one of the event’s
organizers.

“We would benefit from our similarities and our
concerns,” Nabati said.