Earlier this week, students from Silicon Valley Academy, a Muslim school, and Yavneh Jewish Day School met together with their families for a unique evening of Coexistence through Art.
The students had been studying artwork from The Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem, an international collection of graphic art that responds to the stress and tension that currently exists between diverse groups around the world. The Museum collection has traveled the world, calling for open discussion, and for acceptance of those who seem different from ourselves.
The students looked to their faith traditions, reviewed scriptures from the Qu’ran and the Torah, and, with their teachers, probed terms like “reconciliation,” “inner-peace,” and “coexistence.” They created 80 pieces of original artwork, which went now on display at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos.
Teachers from the two schools were brought together by Islamic Networks Group (ING) and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Silicon Valley (JCRC). Maha ElGenaidi, President of ING and Diane Fisher, Executive Director of the JCRC have been working together with Lisa Ceile Goldfus of the Jewish Community Center since last summer to coordinate the effort.
November 27th evening was the occasion for a dynamic cultural exchange, with live music by the Dror Sinai Trio, keynote presentations with local artists Youssef Ismail (former ING speaker) and Amy Trachtenberg and parent discussions led by Imam Tahir Anwar and Rabbi Dana Magat.
- Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem
- ING (Islamic Networks Group
- JCRC
(Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley)
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