Muslim Jewish Alliance for Information & Interaction & Cooperation

MUSLIM JEWISH CONFERENCE LAUNCHING MUSLIM JEWISH ALLIANCE FOR INFORMATION & INTERACTION & COOPERATION

VIENNA 2017 WE TALK TO EACH OTHER, NOT ABOUT EACH OTHER. MUSLIM JEWISH CONFERENCE 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...... 4 MOTIVATION...... 5 MUSLIM JEWISH CONFERENCE...... 6 CONNECTING ACTIONS...... 7 OUR CONNECTING ACTIONS PARTNERS...... 8 ALUMNI PROJECTS...... 9

LOCAL CHAPTERS...... 10 MUSLIM JEWISH ALLIANCE...... 11 FACTS & NUMBERS...... 12 THE MJC SCOPE...... 14 MEDIA COVERAGE...... 16 WHAT THEY SAY...... 17 INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTERS...... 18 BOARD OF ADVISORS...... 19 HONORARY COMMITTEE...... 19 THREE-YEAR PLAN...... 20 DONORS & SUPPORTERS...... 21

www.mjconference.org

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INTRODUCTION

We started the Muslim Jewish Conference 8 years ago.

My family's history is closely tied to intercultural experiences, as a German soldier saved my Grandfather's life and a Christian Priest saved my Grandmother's life during WW2 in Europe. Without people doing the right thing at the right time I would not be alive. I have committed almost a decade now to forming innovative networks of cooperation amongst a new generation of Muslim and Jewish change makers, entrepreneurs and allies, humanizing each other, in order to do the right thing, at the right time.

With a budget of less than 800.000 Euro from 2010 to 2016 we have managed to become not only the main convener of grassroots and young leaders as well as experts in this field, but also the most efficient one. Our reputation is known in organizations such as the United Nations as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Embassies and Consulates throughout this world. We have convened more than 800 multipliers through the Muslim Jewish Conference and the Connecting Action summits with a minimum of resources.

We only dare to imagine what we could be able to achieve with more support.

This presentation serves to illustrate MJC’s activities and present its plans for 2017 and beyond.

1. Produce MJC’s annual, global conference in Sarajevo in August 2017.

2. Relocate MJC’s headquarters from Vienna, Austria to Berlin, Germany by the end of 2017.

3. By 2018, incorporate in Germany a new entity titled, “Muslim Jewish Alliance” (MJA), that contains MJC as well as other new organizational entities that will perform an expanded scope of programs that advance MJC’s vision and mission, including:

• MUSLIM JEWISH CONFERENCE

• CONNECTING ACTIONS

• PROJECTS

• LOCAL CHAPTERS

ILJA SICHROVSKY Founder | Muslim Jewish Conference

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MOTIVATION

By sustaining interpersonal and intercommunal separation, Muslims and Jews miss opportunities that may be of mutual benefit, including:

● HUMAN RIGHTS ● BUSINESS AND COMMERCE ● EDUCATION ● AGRICULTURE ● ARTS AND CULTURE ● SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL RESEARCH ● STANDARD OF LIVING ● INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND COOPERATION

MJC identified a significant, widely overlooked opportunity to enhance mutual understanding, respect and cooperation among Muslims and Jews by convening young leaders of each community for an intensive, weeklong conference.

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MUSLIM JEWISH CONFERENCE

VISION MJC envisions a world where global Muslim and Jewish communities exhibit mutual understanding and respect, and cooperate to enhance and preserve peace and prosperity. MJC envisions itself as a perpetual creator and sustainer of relationships among global Muslim and Jewish leaders.

MISSION MJC endeavors to conceive, plan, and produce events that attract professional and academic Muslim and Jewish leaders from around the ORGANIZATION world to dedicate time to learning about each MJC is led by professionals based in Vienna, other’s communities and sharing the knowledge Austria and supported by a robust team of with their local communities at home. volunteers from across the world, including North and South America, Europe, Middle East, APPROACH Australia, and Africa. MJC hosts annual, week-long conferences that provide a safe space for ~150 global METRICS participants and staff to engage in meaningful dialogue on topics including: confronting MJC maintains a network of over 800 alumni stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice, across 50 countries who work in their own religion of “the other”, inter-faith and Intra- communities to promote the MJC vision, faith dialogue, Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and support alumni-led projects that amplify and genocide awareness. A major initiative the message and ripple the effect of the during the week is ‘sharing the pain’, where conference. we visit memorial sites of genocide having affected both communities. (Srebrenica HISTORY 2013, Mauthausen 2014, Bab Yar 2011, Since its founding in 2010, MJC hosted a Sachsenhausen 2016) Visits to holy sites are conference every year in cities including: also included in the program. Participants Vienna, Austria; Kiev, Ukraine; Bratislava, coproduce grassroots projects, including Slovakia; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegowvina; programs focused on tolerance and education, and Berlin, Germany. The 2017 MJC interfaith or art, which create global and local Conference will be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and impact. Herzegovina.

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CONNECTING ACTIONS

PROBLEM Europe’s significant minority populations of Jews and Muslims are both afflicted by rising tides of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Recent influx of Muslim refugees into Europe challenged the institutions’ ability to integrate immigrants. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and support for far left and right politicians threaten the integrity of the EU and Western alliance that provided a relatively safe place for Muslims and Jews. Interfaith institutions that improve integration are often fragile, locally focused and small scaled.

VISION Connecting Actions (CA) envisions regional and global interfaith organizations cooperating with each other to maximize their impact. ORGANIZATION MISSION CA has been initiated by the MJC leadership CA seeks to create cooperative relationships and operates as a network of professionals among interfaith organizations to maximize their working in dialogue based organizations. efficiency and effectiveness. IMPACT APPROACH Having completed two conferences so far, we CA hosts a four-day symposium for leaders are proud to say that we were able to convene of interfaith organizations and facilitates more than 35 leaders of 20 organizations, discussions on best practices and drives active in the field. coordination among organizations to strengthen the network of organizations and HISTORY sustain and maximize their impact. The name draws from a network created by the MJC on social media in response to the refugee crisis. Called Connecting Actions, the group mobilized a few hundred young Muslims and Jews around Europe to create innovative networks of cooperation in order to assist refugees upon their arrival in Europe.

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OUR CONNECTING ACTIONS PARTNERS

19 PARTNERS SO FAR

Coexister (FRANCE)

Faith Matters (GB)

Three Faiths Forum - 3FF (GB)

European Union of Jewish Students - EUJS (GERMANY)

A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe - CEJI (BELGIUM)

Together for Sweden - TFS (SWEDEN)

Exit (SWEDEN)

Salaam Shalom (GERMANY)

Respect (SWITZERLAND)

Sharing Perspective Foundation - SPF (NETHERLANDS)

United Religions Initiatives - URI (INTERNATIONAL)

Meta-Culture (INDIA)

Comunita Religiosa Islamica Italiana - COREIS (ITALIA)

Institut des Hautes Etudes Islamiques – IHEI (FRANCE)

We Act (DENMARK)

Observatori Blanquerna de Comunicacio, Religio i Cultura (SPAIN)

Fonds de Dotation Grandir Ensemble (FRANCE)

Initiatives et Changement (FRANCE)

Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research - SIETAR (FRANCE)

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ALUMNI PROJECTS

VISION Alumni of both initiatives around the world engage in collaborative projects incubated and/ or inspired by the MJC and Connecting Actions.

MISSION The aim is to host several regional cross- cultural conferences to provide young people with a more positive framework for establishing Muslim-Jewish relations, through exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experiences as well as the development of mutually supportive courses of action.

APPROACH Encourage ongoing communication and contact, participants and alumni will be invited to design projects and will actively be involved in implementing these initiatives throughout the year. This work will be supported by a professional Project Development and Implementation department within the MJA. One of the main roles the MJC has fulfilled is that of a project incubator. During the Muslim Jewish Conference, during Connecting Actions and during local meetings by alumni, project ideas are incubated.

Implementing just some of the ideas that we have archived over the last seven years would provide the impact and long lasting change we are seeking to develop.

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LOCAL CHAPTERS

VISION MJA will expand its focus, serving as a platform for Muslim and Jewish led initiatives and providing educational resources to communities, institutions, academics, and the media on topics relevant to Muslim-Jewish relations.

MISSION Utilizing our roster of skilled activists and APPROACH experienced educators, and our established The most sustainable way to strengthen a reputation as a leader in the field, we will global network of innovative cooperation is to provide guidance to local chapters, creating build, support and consult one global, national new organizations working in these areas, led or regional chapter per year. Selecting a group by our alumni, and we will serve as networking of trusted alumni to lead one chapter and platform for existing interfaith institutions and support it throughout its first year of existence hub for ongoing activities in this field. can provide local change and connect it with the necessary coalitions, thereby strengthening the global movement.

POTENTIAL FIRST CHAPTERS WITH SUFFICIENT ALUMNI SUPPORT:

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MUSLIM JEWISH ALLIANCE

CONTEXT Building on the success of its conference, MJC leadership will incorporate the Muslim Jewish Alliance (MJA), an entity that will include the annual MJC conference as well as other programs.

VISION Muslim Jewish Alliance (MJA) envisions a world where interfaith organizations collaborate with one another to maximize their impact and outreach.

MISSION APPROACH MJA seeks to foster collaborative relations MJA will provide the space and the home that between Jews and Muslims by encouraging a globally based family of Muslims and Jews dialogue between, and leadership of, a new seeking to change the realities on the ground generation of civil society leaders, educators, desperately need. Hundreds of alumni reaching academics, dialogue facilitators, and thousands of activists are trying to make a parents committed to a more peaceful and difference but lack the resources, knowledge, cooperative world. expertise and partners to do so. The MJA will solve this problem by establishing a hub of knowledge, ideas, and experiences as well as ORGANIZATION the development of mutual and professionally MJA will be led by professionals based in guided support. Berlin, Germany and supported by volunteers across the world.

MUSLIM JEWISH ALLIANCE

CONNECTING ACTIONS MJC ALUMNI PROJECTS LOCAL CHAPTER

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FACTS & NUMBERS

We had participants coming to the MJC from all over the world including:

Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada,China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Irak, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, Tunisia, Ukraine, USA, Yemen

54 COUNTRIES 160

140

120

100

40 MJC PARTICIPANTS 20 SINCE 2010 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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MJC CONFERENCES & COMMITTEES 2010 - 2016

MJC 2010 60 MJC 2013 100 MJC 2015 140 Vienna | Austria Sarajevo | Bosnia and Berlin | Germany Herzegovina Islamophobia and Anti- Conflict Transformation / Semitism / Education / Conflict Transformation/ Anti- Power Gender and Religion The Role of Media Semitism and Islamophobia / Living as a Minority / Anti- through Cinema / Back to Semitism Islamophobia and the Basics: Introduction to Hate Speech / Arts and Culture MJC 2011 70 Judaism and Islam / Gender / Project Development and Kiev | Ukraine and Religion / Hate Speech Implementation and its Influence on Public Anti-Semitism and Opinion / Education and the Islamophobia / Effects of Historical Narratives MJC 2016 150 Conflict Transformation/ Berlin | Germany Muslim-Jewish Arts Track / The Role of Media MJC 2014 120 Historical Narratives Vienna | Austria and Identities / Conflict Transformation / Power Religion MJC 2012 80 Gender and Religion / Arts and Human Rights / Arts Bratislava | Slovakia and Culture / Collective and Culture / Us and Them: Memory / Historical Narratives Encountering Marginalization / Anti-Semitism and and Identities / Conflict Projects Development and Islamophobia / Faithful Transformation Power and Implementation Citizens and Positive Religion Narratives / Sustained Community Dialogue / Women in religion / Muslim-Jewish Business Venture / Muslim- Jewish Arts Track

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THE MJC SCOPE SOCIAL MEDIA

MJC in a nutshell? To me it‘s facilitating peace, love and understanding through dialogue.

JANA TURK AUSTRIA

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MEDIA COVERAGE A SELECTION

Forward.com Stereotypes and similarities at Muslim Jewish Conference

Huffpost United Kingdom The 2014 Muslim Jewish Conference: An Ambitious, Daring and Unforgettable Week

Huffpost United Kingdom Muslim Jewish Conference Meets in Sarajevo to Combat Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism

Jerusalem Post Muslims and Jews from around the world gather in Berlin for seventh annual interfaith confab

NewsWeek ME Lest We Forget: My Experience at the Muslim Jewish Conference

Tablet Magazine Empathy Knows No Bounds. Europe Needs It Most of All

The Leveller The World Is Not the Safe Space

Times of Israel US and Them - Muslim Jewish Conference

Times of Israel Muslim Jewish Dialogue Tackles Conflict Head-On

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WHAT THEY SAY...

Muslim Jewish Conference has responded Change is possible only through dialogue and to the call, having grown to include that is the aim of the MJC members from nearly forty countries from all over the world. Under the leadership BAKIR IZETBEGOVIC of founder Ilja Sichrovsky, the commitment MEMBER OF PRESIDENCY of your volunteers and the success of BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA your grassroots movement has been an inspiration for all who endeavor for a politics of dignity and mutual respect. The Muslim Jewish Conference is one of the most powerful vehicles to demonstrate that BILL CLINTON religious and cultural differences can and must PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES be vehicles for deepening mutual discovery and respect, combatting prejudice and bigotry.

Thank you for all that you are doing with your RABBI DAVID ROSEN colleagues, to create more chances to spread INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR OF the culture of dialogue and mutual respect INTERRELIGIOUS AFFAIRS inside the Muslim Jewish communities. AJC

ANDRÉ AZOULAY, COUNSELLOR TO H.M. KING MOHAMMED VI Antisemitism and Islamophobia are two MOROCCO sides of the same coin. At MJC they fight this menace together, for a better future of the next generation. Civil society engagement as lived out by the friends and supporters of the Muslim Jewish JAKOB FINCI Conference is essential in a society that regards PRESIDENT OF INTER-RELIGIOUS COUNCIL diversity as an asset and wants to promote BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA peaceful coexistence characterized by mutual respect and interest in others. To ensure that this engagement can be maintained, the Muslim At MJC, young Muslim and Jewish leaders have Jewish Conference is rightly calling on those in a unique opportunity to discuss issues affecting government for support. their communities and work together towards solving them. These open dialogues are critical DR. FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER for creating a peaceful future. GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER SALLY A. PAINTER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER BLUE STAR STRATEGIES

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INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTERS

Karl Kahane Foundation AlWaleed Philantropies Pincus Family Foundation Stanley & Marion Bergman Family Charitable Fund EVZ - The Federal Foundation "Memory, Responsibility and Future" ODIHR - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Ministry of foreign affairs - Germany Embassy of the United States of America , Vienna Embassy of the United States of America, Berlin

OSCE - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Ministry of foreign affairs - Bosnia & Herzegovina Ministry of foreign affairs - Slovakia Ministry of foreign affairs - Austria

City of Berlin City of Vienna City of Sarajevo

American University in Bosnia Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts, Slovakia Institute for African Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria Institute of International Development, University of Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts and Design Bratislava, Slovakia

Bruno Kreisky Forum, Vienna Blue Star Strategies Hommes de Parole Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland Jewish Jumpstart NH Hotels

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BOARD OF ADVISORS

Ambassador Jacob Finci Dr. Mustafa Cerić André Azoulay Rabbi David Rosen Sally A. Painter

HONORARY COMMITTEE

Abbas Khider Jeremiah Baronberg Adnan Hasic Josef Hader Aleksandr Feldman Josef Ostermayer Alexander Van der Bellen Michael Häupl Alois Mock Ambassador Nedzad S. Hadzimusic Rabbi Andrew Baker Patricia Kahane André Heller Peter Jankowitsch Eduard Dolinsky Rafi Elul Eveline Goodman-Thau Susanne Scholl Franz Fischler Timna Brauer Ibrahim Issa Wolfgang Petritsch Jameleddine Ben Abdeljelil Zeynep Taluy-Grossruck

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THREE-YEAR PLAN

Host the 3rd Connecting Actions symposium 2017 Launch Muslim Jewish Alliance in Berlin, Germany Hire second full time staff

Host the 2018 Muslim Jewish Conference Host two Connecting Actions symposia 2018 Implement two alumni led projects Build one local chapter Hire third full time staff

Host the 2019 Muslim Jewish Conference Host two Connecting Actions symposia 2019 Implement two alumni led projects Build one additional local chapter Hire fourth full time staff

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DONORS & SUPPORTERS

We would like to thank the following organizations for their support over the years, either with generous donations or otherwise:

THANK YOU FORCONNECTING YOUR ACTIONS SUPPORT!PROJECTS LOCAL CHAPTER 21 EXPERTS IMPACT COALITION BUILDING www.mjconference.org