Within Your Gates, Jerusalem – Vatican News

By Alessandra Buzzetti *

The road is long and difficult, but necessary—and neither impossible nor without hope: to build an alternative narrative, serious and solid, shared by the different religious traditions, in order to rediscover Jerusalem’s authentic and universal mission.

The direction of this journey became clear yesterday at the University of Notre Dame’s academic center in the city. On stage, an Israeli Jewish professor and a Muslim professor engaged in dialogue starting from the vision Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa expressed in his Letter to the Diocese, “They Returned to Jerusalem with Joy.”

“Each of us felt that something in our souls had died. Cardinal Pizzaballa’s invitation was, first and foremost, to listen deeply and compassionately to others, without an attitude of moral superiority, but in order to learn from them,” explains Daniel Schwake, Director of Notre Dame Jerusalem and of the Advisory Committee of Within Your Gates. “That is how the platform came into being. It is not intended to occupy additional institutional spaces, but to initiate processes and provide tools for deeper study and reflection for everyone. We do not have a single voice, nor are we interested in proposing political solutions. Our interest is in seeking the truth together, grounded in the reality and history of all the parties involved.”

This is why the first subject of discussion and dialogue in recent months has been language: it can be a deadly weapon of division and total closure, or a tool for mutual understanding and openness. It cannot be taken for granted that Christians, Jews, and Muslims living in Jerusalem understand—or even know—the historical and religious significance that others attach to the same places, where every stone is contested.

“Jerusalem is a dilemma for me. I do not know whether I love it or not, or whether my attachment to it is healthy or not. I am constantly struggling with my feelings,” admits Sari Nusseibeh. “I do not think the Jerusalem I want is the one I inherited. I think the Jerusalem I want is a Jerusalem promised for the future. We must work together to build it. It was possible in the past, and the fact that we are now once again in darkness does not mean that we cannot see the light. I have learned a great deal from the discussions and workshops I have taken part in through ‘Within Your Gates’. We may have different visions, but we share the same spiritual interests.”

It is not yet time for the purification of memory envisioned by Cardinal Pizzaballa in his pastoral letter and in his remarks from the stage. But work must begin to create different yet peaceful settings where all these diverse positions and perspectives can encounter one another in a new way.

“We must listen to everyone and remain anchored in this painful reality, but one that is also rich in opportunities. We will not change society; we will not change everything,” the Patriarch explains. “But we want to make our contribution and be a discreet, clear presence—an uncomfortable one, if necessary—that reminds everyone that this land belongs to all.”

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This is the shared aspiration of the Steering Committee and Advisory Committee of ‘Within Your Gates’, which met behind closed doors yesterday before the public event. Present in Jerusalem were Ninive Sandouka, a Palestinian activist from East Jerusalem who coordinates the Alliance for Middle East Peace—a network of organizations in which Israelis and Palestinians work together; Margaret Karram, born in Haifa and a longtime resident of Jerusalem, now President of the Focolare Movement; and Sarah Stroumsa, an Israeli scholar of Islam and Arabic studies and former Rector of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“I am very drawn to the idea of finding new ways, through public debate, to reach people. In recent years, the same formulas have been repeated over and over,” says Sarah Stroumsa. “I see in the ‘Within Your Gates’ platform an opportunity for a different narrative—one that captures people’s attention and allows them to reflect on what is happening.”

It is an open-ended work in progress—without forced milestones—inviting other scholars and educators, as well as historians and philosophers, to take part. International organizations in Italy and the United States are already involved in this first stage of the journey. Because this is Jerusalem’s authentic mission: to be a city with open gates.

*Journalist and Middle East correspondent for Tv2000 and InBlu2000