Over the next two months, the Jewish community of Charlotte will be celebrating Israel’s 60th birthday. We will be rejoicing in her culture: enjoying Israeli foods, music, dance and the fruits of the land including Dead Sea Spa products. In June, a group of us will even be heading off to Jerusalem to take in the sights, spirituality, and deep sense of connectedness that only a trip to our homeland can offer.

Milestone birthdays are a powerful time our lives. When it comes to our personal decade birthdays, simply celebrating the passing of our years without reflecting on the ways in which we need to grow or articulating our hopes and prayers for our future, is a missed opportunity. Milestone moments should motivate us to make the most of our lives.

The same holds true for this milestone birthday of Israel. We should take Israel’s 60th birthday not only as a time of celebration but as a time for each of us to grow -- in our learning about Israel, in our struggling to understand the conflicts that Israel faces, and in being able to engage in dialogue and articulate the directions in which we hope Israel will move with her Palestinian neighbors.

Temple Beth El’s strength is its leadership in the interfaith arena – we have an abundance of partners in dialogue. As part of Israel’s 60th birthday, Temple Beth El has been instrumental in bringing an exhibit and program of dialogue to Charlotte. We have worked tirelessly in drawing together members of the Jewish community and broader community for this monumental program called Children of Jerusalem and Families of Faith in Charlotte.

We hope you will participate in one of the following ways:

• Take a trip to ImaginOn with a friend or with your family sometime from March 9th through May 15, pick up a gallery guide, and learn from the exhibit of artwork created by Israeli and Palestinian Children from east and west Jerusalem, divided by beliefs, conflict and war. Through their two years of dialogue and challenging conversation, these students moved from painting fear and pain to painting hope and peace.
   
• Join us on Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 pm in the McColl Theatre at ImaginOn for a moving program involving an Israeli and Palestinian, both of whom have lost loved ones in the conflict. They are part of an inspirational organization called Parents Circle – Family Forum: Bereaved Families Supporting Peace, Reconciliation and Tolerance.

Through the many upcoming programs surrounding this exhibit in the months ahead, we will learn how to have difficult conversations where there is conflict and to build bridges of understanding.

Please celebrate Israel’s birthday by enjoying her culture and her countless achievements. Celebrate also by learning more about Israel’s history, by learning about her struggles, by learning how to articulate the ways in which we hope she will grow and by praying for her peace