10 Yad Harutsim St
Jerusalem 9153102
Israel
- Gender
- International/Cultural relations
- Youth and education
Through education, encounter, research and information services, The Rossing Center fosters improved relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land, reaching some 8,000 people every year. The Center operates seven major programs - the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, Educating for Change, Dialogue and Identity, Healing Hatred, ADAShA, The Open House in Ramle and Meeting Place – each of which has its own director and/or coordinator. Activities are overseen by the Executive Director and the Center has 16 paid staff members, 12 of whom hold full-time positions, and an annual budget of 1,200,000 Euro. The organization has received support from the US Embassy, the Church of Sweden, DVHL, Misereor, various family foundations, private donors, and more, and partners with the Ministry of Education, local municipalities, the TALI Education Fund, the National Office of Catholic Schools and other civil society organizations in Israel and Palestine.
The Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue is a Jerusalem-based, non-profit organization that promotes an inclusive society for all religious, ethnic and national groups in Israel. Through education, encounter, research and information services, the Center fosters improved relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims. We believe that understanding, respect, justice and equality are the cornerstones of a better future for us all.
The objectives of the Rossing Center’s include:
-Contributing to the understanding and appreciation of the other’s religious/cultural/national narratives, traditions, beliefs, and practices;
- Combating prejudices and negative stereotypes;
- Creating and deepening relationships across religious lines despite differences and disagreement.
Rossing Center's seven programs include Educating for Change, which provides teachers with tools for managing and facilitating conflictual racism-related discussions in the classroom; Dialogue and Identity - a Jewish and Arab primary school-twinning program that promotes understanding, respect, and intercultural tolerance; JCJCR (the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations) that offers teachers, tour guides, and key stakeholders (such as IDF personnel) courses, study tours, seminars on Christian communities and local Jewish-Christian relations; Healing Hatred, an innovative model for inter-religious dialogue that equips professionals with tools and hands-on skills of spiritual counseling for healing trauma and fear; ADAShA, which provides inter-religious groups from overseas with a multi-faceted educational experience in Israel; Meeting Place, a partnership project with The Hebrew University of Jerusalem to promote an inclusive campus through study and dialogue groups held by Jewish, Christian and Muslim students; and the recently opened Open House in Ramle, a grassroots hub for interfaith, intercultural and inter-generational activity created, implemented and sustained by Ramle residents
First and foremost, the Rossing Center brings its 17 years of experience and the over 60,000 people impacted by our work to the Anna Lindh Network promoting intercultural dialogue. By engaging directly with government and institutional stakeholders, applying a multiplier effect by working with teachers, tour guides, and religious leaders who disseminate our message, and by applying our unique Healing Hatred methodology that enables participants to understand core spiritual and moral dilemmas at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and abandon the discourse of victimhood and fear, the Rossing Center brings a unique approach to conflict mitigation, shared society and coexistence. Following the alarming outbreak of violence in mixed Jewish-Arab cities in May 2021, our work has become all the more crucial and pressing. Now, more than ever, providing teachers with tools for managing and facilitating conflictual racism-related discussions in the classroom, organizing twinning events between Jewish and Arab schoolchildren to facilitate understanding, respect, and intercultural tolerance, and building relations between Israeli and Palestinian students on campus – are essential if we wish to address the root causes that have led to the recent shattering of relations between many Jews and Arabs in Israel.
As a leading organization engaged in dialogue and improved relations between Jews, Muslims and Christians, we believe our goals to be very much aligned with those of the ALF. The Rossing Center would be honored to join the Anna Lindh Foundation Network, and sees it as an opportunity to expand partnerships with other civil society bodies both in Israel and in Europe, and as a means of raising funds for new and existing projects.