The first event of its kind, "Two Peoples, Two Holidays, One Day," brought the Chief Rabbis and Chief Qadis together along with Arab and Jewish political leaders for a dialogue and joint call for tolerance.
The event was held in honor of Yom Kippur and Eid el-Adha, which both fall on Saturday. Yom Kippur is a day of silence, prayer and fasting, while Eid el-Adha is a festival of food, music and joy among Muslims.
The conference was attended by Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef; Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi, David Lau; president of the Islamic Court, Daud Zinni; Chief Qadi of Yafo, Mohammad Sabda; MK Ibrahim Tzartsur (UAL), MK Israel Eichler (United Torah Judaism), MK David Azoulay (Shas), MK Tzahi Hanegbi (Likud) and MK Merav Michaeli (Labor), the conference organizer.
The event, in collaboration with The Abraham Fund Initiative, focused conversation on the two holidays and how Jews and Arabs can celebrate them in ways which practice peace and mutual respect. Among the audience were public officials, local Jewish and Arab residents and high school students from Lod.