Mmal Elsana Alhjooj says she’s seen first hand how tensions have increased in Montreal since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.“How can you walk in the City of Montreal feeling that you can cut the air with a knife,” she said.
That tension is why she started Solidarity With Dialogue through her organization, Promoting Leadership for Empowerment, Development and Justice (PLEDJ). Alhjooh’s goal is to get people from different communities to understand each other through honest, straightforward discussion of differences. She is Palestinian and says she has lost relatives in Gaza.“For me, it has always been the question of whether I’m going to sink into the pain, or I need to transform that pain into hope,” she told Media.
The initiative is a one-year pilot project, the first part of which involved training 20 front-line community leaders from a variety of backgrounds in conflict resolution and dialogue.
“They will be equipped to facilitate difficult conversations and to create a space, a safe space, for brave conversations,” Alhjooj said.
Wednesday was the last day of the four-day training given by conflict resolution experts. Alhjooj said she hopes others will be inspired, partly because she has partnered with Peace Network for Social Harmony, an organization headed by long-time friend, Brian Bronfman, who is Jewish.
Bronfman admits it might not be possible to change what’s happening in the Middle East from here in this city.