Civil Society Leaders 2025/6

Over 18 months between 2025 and 2026, Musalaha is walking a new group of civil society leaders through their reconciliation programme.

The Civil Society Leaders programme aims at improving structural justice and Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), and is specifically designed to transform Israeli and Palestinian community members into active, accountable peacebuilding leaders.

The Vision

At its core, this programme seeks to restore the balance of power and reignite democratic models of community. By utilising Musalaha’s curriculum of reconciliation, 10 Jewish Israeli and 10 Palestinian Muslims and Christians are guided through a process of identity-seeking, where they explore how faith and heritage shape their perspectives. This process is grounded in faith-based reflections, and a commitment to structural justice, moving beyond simple conversation toward challenging the systemic barriers that perpetuate the inequalities between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Journey

This programme follows Musalaha’s 6 stages of reconciliation, designed to break down divides, building relationships and create lasting bridges between communities. This begins with a 5-day Desert Encounter in the Wadi Rum Desert. This provides a neutral space for participants to bond, stripped away from the daily pressures and influences that characterise this conflict.

Following the desert experience, the group forms sub-committees to design outreach activities within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These projects are focused on being needs-based, aimed to impact the wider fabric of society, such as online campaigns, or community events.

By focusing on civil society leaders, this programme ripples out from the participants, with these key leaders demonstrating tolerance and mutual understanding in their communities. This is typifies Musalaha’s unique combination of building relationships while challenging exclusionary identities and non-violently co-resisting structural injustices.