Pakistani Americans leave for Israel on second peacemaking trip

WASHINGTON: After the groundbreaking success of a historic trip by Pakistani-Americans to Israel and the United Arab Emirates in May this year another group of prominent Pakistanis left for Israel for a peacemaking trip.

This group includes prominent Muslim-Americans and South-Asian Americans, American Muslim and Multifaith Women s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC) and Sharaka, Pakistani- American president of AMMWEC and Sharaka Board Member Anila Ali said while talking to a private TV channel.

The goal of this delegation is to continue the peacemaking efforts started by the delegation of interfaith leaders led by, Anila Ali, and to build positive understanding and to help encourage Pakistan-Israel relations and Pakistan s connection to the Abraham Accords, the report said. The group consists of prominent Pakistani American leaders, including Dr Nassim Ashraf, and a number of leading Pakistani journalists and religious figures.

The floodgates are wide open; the initial shock has turned into a realisation that Muslims and Jews are both the children of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH). Therefore, we must continue our work to build peace on a people-to-people connection to promote the Abraham Accords in Muslim countries. If we are to build a better future for our children, we must let go of the grievances of the past, explained Anila Ali.

Sharaka is a non-governmental, region-wide project that brings together Arabs and Israelis to build mutual understanding and promote peace in the Middle East through people-to-people engagement and citizen diplomacy. It has branches in the Arab Gulf, Israel and Morocco, and members from around the region, as well as the US, Europe, and Pakistan.

The aim of the trip is to allow the participants to see and explore Israel for themselves, and to transmit what they learn and experience to audiences in Pakistan to help provide information for the important debate underway on whether Pakistan should join the Abraham Accords. Moreover, due to the tragic flooding in Pakistan, much of the visit will focus on life-saving technologies developed in Israel relating to water and food security and to mitigating climate and environmental disasters, the report added.

The trip includes a meeting with the President of Israel, senior foreign policy figures, and well-known intellectual, cultural, religious, and political figures. The trip will have a special focus on the Israeli hi-tech ecosystem and will feature meetings with leading innovators in the water, agro and climate tech spaces, as well as Israels world-leading water management systems. They will also meet an internationally recognised expert on crisis preparedness. The team will also pay a visit to the holy sites that are sacred to Abrahamic faiths along with a visit to the Holocaust Museum. The delegation consists of high profile Pakistanis Americans, interfaith leaders, and media giants.

I am delighted and honored to be invited by AMMWEC and Sharaka to be part of the delegation to visit Israel to promote peace and interfaith dialogue. Such people-to-people contacts are very important to develop understanding and harmony between Abrahamic Faiths to which we belong, Pakistani-American Dr Nasim Ashraf said.

Sharaka co-founder Amit Deri said: We are thrilled to be welcoming this delegation to Israel as a part of our efforts to expand the peace camp. This is truly historic, and we hope can lead to additional countries, like Pakistan, joining the peace camp. Only by working together and building roads of dialogue can we work to solve our differences and take on common challenges and threats - from climate and water related challenges to extremists in the region who only want to promote hatred.

American Muslim & Multifaith Womens Empowerment Council, AMMWEC is a non-profit organisation built to provide the diverse Muslim American women the tools and opportunities to lead and to empower them to live a better life.