Four preselected panelists spoke about their experiences on campus either as Jews or as Muslims and what they thought the other panelists' daily lives were like in the Brandeis environment at an event titled Jews and Muslims Session: Homies in Harmony III last Thursday. Brandeis Hillel, the Brandeis Muslim Student Association, The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life and The Brandeis Pluralism Alliance co-sponsored the event.

In an interview with the Justice, event coordinators Neda Eid '11 and Jess Kent '09 hoped the event would "expand the relationships [between both religious groups] through a respectful but challenging conversation."

The event was based on a similar event, Homies in Harmony, that took place in the past two years. Homies in Harmony was meant to foster positive relationships between the Muslim and Jewish communities at Brandeis through music, food, and friendship and "take it to a deeper level" said Kent, who also helped coordinate Homies in Harmony.

Kent explained, "[JAM] was advertised through the event calendar, the Ethics Center and the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, but certain students were invited to the discussion group who would be opinionated in their beliefs but open-minded enough to discuss them."

The panelists consisted of one observant and one liberal member of each religious group. The event began with a Torah reading by Elisha Fredman '10 and a Quran reading by Yunus Karahan (GRAD) to highlight the differences and similarities between the two religions.

A round-table-type discussion followed the exercise as the other 30 to 40 participants told stories of their religious experiences at Brandeis and followed up those stories with questions or opinions. The discussion was minimally mediated or guided by the coordinators and allowed for, as Eid said, "comfortable honesty."

"As a Muslim observer, I noticed that the Jewish-Jewish relations is an issue on campus as well. The same can be said about the Muslim-Muslim relations on campus. This is something that [Kent] and I knew would reveal itself during the Jewish-Muslim dialogue," Eid wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

"I pushed myself to do this event because of the power of 'awareness.' I knew that if a Muslim student heard a Jewish student criticizing Israel or the Jewish faith it would create a better awareness of the diverse opinions Jews have about certain parts of their identities. The same can be said about a Jewish student hearing an honest account of the difficulties a Muslim has had on the Brandeis campus," Eid wrote.

Eid wrote that she wanted to create awareness about preconceived notions regarding the Jews and Muslims present at the event.

Andrew Gluck '11, president of the Brandeis Orthodox Organization and an invited participant, said in an interview with the Justice, "At times, I felt uncomfortable-which is often the mark of honest and open interfaith dialogue. I enjoyed that it was a smaller event and therefore people felt comfortable sharing their true feelings. Also, people remained respectful of others' traditions and influences yet felt open enough to ask questions that would otherwise be deemed invasive."

He added, "My favorite part of the evening was when panelists were asked to guess what it must feel like to be a different panelist."

Judah Marans '11, from the Student Union Judiciary who was an invited guest at the event, said, "There were times when it was actually difficult for me. It's difficult to be confronted head-on with people of different backgrounds with completely different views from yours, particularly when you are raised in an environment where there's often a hostility towards the other religion." He added that he thinks it is crucial to be exposed to people of different cultures, as everyone has something unique to offer.

"Often, promoted dialogue can feel forced, and to the credit of those who created the JAM session, the event did not feel stilted, as if there were things to say that people were afraid to say. . Particularly since it wasn't very public, [the participants] were able to be ourselves and not worry about having to be politically correct per se, and we were actually able to learn and share honestly with each other," Marans said.

With regards to planning similar events in the future, Gluck said, "I feel that this event could be used as a potential kickoff for a think tank that could meet once or twice a month to discuss, in an honest and open fashion, problems and issues facing Jewish-Muslim relations.

"If I hope for anything, I hope that I helped create an opportunity for the Muslim students at the event to develop a close relationship with a Jewish student [or Jewish] students that they met," Eid wrote.

She also wrote, " I truly believe that it is these relationships that make Brandeis a special place and enrich the experiences we have here.