When the Holy Land was once again plunged into violence on October 7th last year

Source: Elijah Institiute, Praying Together in Jerusalem

When the Holy Land was once again plunged into violence on October 7th last year, Elijah Interfaith responded with intensified prayers.

Our ongoing program, Praying Together in Jerusalem, increased its activity from monthly to weekly gatherings under the subject-line, "Upholding the Dignity of the Human Person."

Weekly, teachings were offered by leaders and teachers of all major faiths, highlighting the value of the human person as an ideal that must be maintained, even at times of war and even following the events of October 7th. These teachings were followed by prayers, suitable to the context, and more broadly with the hope for eventual peace.

After half a year of learning and praying, we created this short video compilation.

Human Dignity: Interreligious Teachings in Time of Global Conflict

The teachings were followed by prayers. Praying Together has always emphasized the importance of each of us praying in a manner and with words that come from our own tradition – authentic prayers which reflect the diversity of our religious lives and our mutual respect for the religious other. Thus, we heard prayers in many languages, some invoking Divine intervention and others urging personal reflection, some reflecting the fears of these difficult times and others conveying hope.

We prayed for the welfare of those in the Holy Land and we prayed for the relief from warfare and suffering for people everywhere, never failing to acknowledge that Ukraine is still under attack and that many other arenas of war can be forgotten by the media and thus far from our consciousness.