Forward Thinking, the Causeway Institute and East Belfast Mission host delegation of Israeli rabbis in Belfast and London, 6th-9th May 2013

Forward Thinking, in association with the Causeway Institute for Peace Building and Conflict Resolution and the East Belfast Mission, hosted a delegation of six ultra-orthodox Israeli rabbis affiliated with the Shas Party in a visit to Belfast and London. The visit was titled "Writing the Religious Initiative" and provided the rabbis with the opportunity to listen to religious and political individuals from the Republican and Unionist communities as they discussed the relationship between religion and politics in Northern Ireland.The rabbis heard from influential religious figures who described how they had personally managed to negotiate a pathway to a peaceful settlement within a theological framework. The speakers from Northern Ireland gave an honest appraisal of the challenges of peace-building, but also stressed the potential for religion to play a positive role in resolving conflict.The delegation then travelled to London, where they held meetings with imams at the East London Mosque. The discussion explored  the commonalities between Judaism and Islam, as the rabbis and imams shared their perspectives about the challenges of raising youths in a religious tradition in the modern world.   The visit concluded with the imams taking the rabbis to the historic Fieldgate Synagogue that neighbours East London Mosque.Finally the delegation were hosted at the House of Lords by Lord Hylton, a trustee of Forward Thinking. Lord Hylton arranged for a roundtable discussion with British parliamentarians, who used the opportunity to ask the rabbis their perspective on the current situation in Israeli and on sensitive issues such as settlement building.