Landau
Works with Hartford Seminary To Promote Interfaith Relationships
Hartford
Seminary has appointed Yehezkel Landau, administrative director of
Open House in Israel, a center for Jewish-Arab co-existence, as
faculty associate in interfaith relations.
Landau,
whose appointment is for the 2002-2003 academic year, will teach
courses, be available for speaking engagements in the community and
work with religious leaders seeking to improve the interfaith
climate.
Seminary
President Heidi Hadsell said the appointment comes
at a key time in the Seminary’s efforts to promote dialogue.
“Hartford Seminary believes strongly in the importance of
dialogue,” Hadsell said. “Yehezkel brings a special perspective,
having practiced dialogue and promoted interfaith understanding in
one of the most difficult environments in the world.”
“I
am delighted that he will spend the next year at Hartford
Seminary,” she said, “and I expect he will contribute to greater
understanding in our region.”
Ibrahim
Abu-Rabi, co-director of Hartford Seminary’s Macdonald Center for
the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, said, “Yehezkel
Landau brings the important voice of Jewish spirituality to
our interfaith work at Hartford Seminary. He has been on the
forefront of reconciliation and healing between Arabs and Jews for
many years. There is no more critical time than this for his
voice to be expressed.”
For
the past 25 years, Landau has lived in Israel, promoting the cause
of peace. He co-founded Open House in 1991, to further peace and
coexistence among Israeli Arabs and Jews in Ramle, a city of 65,000
between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Open House
has two inter-related goals: to provide educational and social
opportunities to Arab children and their families through its Center
for the Development of the Arab Child and to be a place
of encounter and cooperation between Jews and Arabs through its Center for Jewish-Arab Coexistence.
Landau
has a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity
School. In 1990 he received the Katzenstein Award presented to a
distinguished alumnus.
He
has been program coordinator for the Israel Interfaith Association
in Jerusalem, a lecturer on Judaism and interfaith relations at
several institutions in Israel and executive director of Oz
veShalom-Netivot Shalom, the religious Zionist peace movement in
Israel.
The
appointment of Landau comes at a time when the Seminary is
completing a revised mission statement that emphasizes dialogue as
central to its mission.
The
Seminary is serving as a laboratory in and outside the classroom
where differences can be encountered in an atmosphere of creativity
and safety. It is seeking change among and within people whose
attitudes and behavior are influenced by misunderstanding,
misinformation, intolerance and prejudice associated with religion.
The
emphasis on dialogue reflects a commitment to values long held at
the Seminary: It is dedicated to moving beyond toleration to
critical engagement in an environment of trust and it affirms the
common humanity of all people.
For
additional information, contact: David S. Barrett, director of
public and institutional affairs, at 860-509-9519 or dbarrett@hartsem.edu.
