PHOTO: Noam Meirov, Dalia Ziada, Youssef Elazhari and Fatima Al Harbi speak at Sharaka's presentation at Congregation Neveh Shalom Tuesday, May 12. (Isaac Babus for The Jewish Review)

Dalia Ziada grew up with an exceptionally small bookshelf in her parents’ house in Egypt. Aside from a few dusty school textbooks, its surface held the two prominent scripts of her childhood: the Quran and Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, translated into Arabic. Ziada grew up believing in constant hateful propaganda about the Jewish people and Israel’s existence because it was a product of her society, and she lost countless friends after deciding to take on the mission of educating herself beyond the media’s portrayal. While she was eventually forced out of Egypt due to her contrarian beliefs that Israelis were not her enemy and that Hamas was a terrorist organization, she sought new ways to educate others and was met by Sharaka with open arms.

Sharaka, meaning “partnership” in Arabic, is a non-governmental organization that was established directly following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020. With a mission of promoting peaceful dialogue between Israel and multiple Arab nations, the organization brings representatives from different Middle Eastern countries together to normalize collaboration and human-to-human connection surrounding complex political issues. 

Four representatives from Sharaka produced an intriguing panel at Congregation Neveh Shalom on Tuesday evening to share insights and experiences from their lives amid conflict. Youssef Elazhari, an entrepreneur and activist from Morocco; Fatema Al Harbi, an author and peace advocate from Bahrain; Noam Meirov, the managing director of Sharaka from Israel; and Dalia Ziada, a writer and geopolitical expert from Egypt. 

Each speaker came from a unique relationship with Jews and Israelis in their own lives but have felt a newfound drive for peace after learning more about a culture and nation they were told to hate. Al Harbi grew up in a beautiful co-existence of many different religions in Bahrain but was not immune to the propaganda circulating her country. Ziadi had been surrounded with complicated layers of hate since it was ingrained in her earliest years. Elazhari spoke on the welcoming nature of Morocco to the Jewish people since the destruction of the first temple but also noticed a divide continuing to form.

“I was welcomed in Israel by the Moroccan diaspora community, and for the first time, I was hugged by someone I am supposed to hate,” said Elazhari of his first trip to Israel. “Zionists were portrayed as enemies in Morocco when I was growing up.”

The panelists tackled many complex issues during their discussion, including the reactions of their home countries’ governments to their involvement with Sharaka and the challenges of involving Palestinians with their organization due to dire safety risks – a subject which drew a pointed question from an audience member, which the broader crowd responded negatively to. Through each difficulty mentioned, there was an echo of hope for the progress that has and will be made in coming together for a shared vision of harmony. 

“It is a fundamental Jewish value to not believe in the afterlife but belief in this life, to believe in humanity and reach out to people we don’t agree with,” said Meirov. “We need to find ways to build bridges and work together.”

Associate Editor Caron Blau Rothstein contributed reporting.

Becca Weinberg is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon currently based in Portland, and a staff writer for Lookout Landing and Circling Seattle Sports covering the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Reign FC. Find more of her writing on her portfolio website or via LinkedIn.