Political barriers to human contact between Jews and Arabs in Palestine/the Land of Israel are perhaps higher than they have ever been.  But aside from the land, these two peoples share deep cultural roots and will, someday, all need to be fluent in each other's language.  Barry Mann's Dreams of Peace brilliantly leverages their common linguistic heritage so that even in the process of learning to understand one another, Israelis and Palestinians can learn to understand themselves.

 

Ian Lustick

Bess W. Heyman Professor of Political Science

University of Pennsylvania

 

 

 

Students  of this book will discover that a language they once thought impossibly strange and foreign is really quite familiar. Our students were thrilled to take a step into the world of their Muslim counterparts. I see wonderful potential for Dreams of Peace to build bridges, one language student at a time!

Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer,  PhD

Director, Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

 

 

 

 

As a bilingual native speaker and instructor of both Arabic and Hebrew, I know through experience how language creates a window into culture and allows an opening for a new perspective.  The innovations of this dual language primer demonstrate the similarities between the two languages, and may be one small step towards both facilitating language acquisition and fostering further understanding.

Ibrahim Miari, Lecturer

Department of Near Eastern Languages

University of Pennsylvania

The Quran (30:22) likens the diversity of languages to the multiplicity of colors, a testimony to God’s creative power. The Prophet of Islam encouraged his companions to learn languages other than their own to reduce the harm that could come from mutual ignorance or mistrust about one another. What a joy it would be for Muslims and Jews, both children of Abraham, to continue to discover the similarities between our respective traditions that are highlighted by the similarities of our two sacred languages. Our success in building understanding between the two communities can have global impact, and Dreams of Peace is a big leap in that direction.

 

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed

National Director for the Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances

Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)