Tom Wegner توم ويغنر תום וגנר

The Abrahamic Movement UK is getting underway. At a meeting in London attended by local leaders from the Jewish, Iranian, Somaliland and Kurdish communities, and Arab supporters of the Abraham Accords, we announced a new path: a local alternative in Britain to the extremist movements. Our communities in Britain are suffering a complete loss of their security in the shadow of violence from extremist movements. It is not only the Jewish community that fears the rise of extremism: the Iranian opposition community, the Somaliland community, moderate Muslims, the Kurds and minorities such as the Druze and Alawites also suffer harassment and violence from incited extremists. So do Christians. The founding of the Abrahamic Movement UK heralds a new dawn for the Abrahamic communities, a moderate alliance that will raise a new and unifying voice in Britain, an authentic voice from the Middle East that heralds Abrahamic peace and a shared vision in which there is room for everyone. Just as important, it will create a community of communities, which will no longer feel so alone in the face of violent and extremist forces.

On the Jewish-Arab conflict: "It's not a divorce. It's not dividing up: this is yours and this is mine." That is what Rabbi Yoel Oz, President of the Abrahamic Movement in Israel and one of the founders of the Abrahamic Movement, said at a Jewish-Arab gathering we held in Haifa, part of the Building a Shared Future program: "We need to share the inheritance. And it's complicated – inheritances are always complicated. But it's not that we are divorcing each other. We live together, we are family, and we will need to be together for the future to come." Building a Shared Future is a joint program of several organizations, supported by Leap Forward and coordinated by the Abrahamic Movement, to advance dialogue and shared life between Jews and Arabs through field encounters, videos and podcasts. Program partners: Talking Peace (Siach Shalom), Bokra, Tawassul, the Jerusalem Interfaith Center and the Interfaith Incubator. #InterfaithDialogue #Coexistence

A place does not become holy only because of what is in it. It becomes holy because of the people. That is how Muad Odeh, Secretary-General of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Israel, put it at an Abrahamic Movement gathering in Haifa, where Jews and Arabs sat together as part of the Building a Shared Future program: "People make a place holy. That is why we see the experience here in Haifa, as people, across the different religions. We said: Arabs, Jews, Christians, whatever there is – all together. How people live together. That, in my view, is what makes a place holy." And the place itself? "A holy place is also how I feel in the place. Not just whether I have a holy place or something. Yes, a holy place is holy, but it is also the way people conduct themselves that defines the holiness of a place." Building a Shared Future is a joint program of several organizations, supported by Leap Forward and coordinated by the Abrahamic Movement, to advance dialogue and shared life between Jews and Arabs through field encounters, videos and podcasts. Program partners: Talking Peace (Siach Shalom), Bokra, Tawassul, the Jerusalem Interfaith Center and the Interfaith Incubator. #InterfaithDialogue #Coexistence

"When we started the Abrahamic Movement, I was asked – because I'm a rabbi and I have a beard – whether it is something religious. I said it is not necessarily religious." That is how Rabbi Yoel Oz, President of the Abrahamic Movement in Israel and one of the founders of the Abrahamic Movement, recalled it at a Jewish-Arab gathering in Haifa, part of the Building a Shared Future program. He added: "It is also something cultural, something spiritual in general, that it doesn't belong to one religion only, and that it is the narrative – the story of the people of the Middle East. […] And it can be something that speaks to one person in one way, and to another man or woman in a different sense. And it includes all these facets: it's narrative, it's spirituality, it's culture, it's also part of politics, let's say – an answer to those who want to separate the religions and the people." Building a Shared Future is a joint program of several organizations, supported by Leap Forward and coordinated by the Abrahamic Movement, to advance dialogue and shared life between Jews and Arabs through field encounters, videos and podcasts. Program partners: Talking Peace (Siach Shalom), Bokra, Tawassul, the Jerusalem Interfaith Center and the Interfaith Incubator. #InterfaithDialogue #Coexistence #JewsAndArabs

"You know, we are cousins. We have the same father, Ibrahim – Abraham." Growing up in New York, Rabbi Yoel Oz, President of the Abrahamic Movement in Israel and one of the founders of the Abrahamic Movement, heard this again and again from Muslim taxi drivers who noticed his kippah. It always stuck with him. At a Jewish-Arab gathering of the Abrahamic Movement in Haifa, part of the Building a Shared Future program, Rabbi Oz called the Abrahamic idea "the solution hiding in plain sight": once we say we are family, even conflict becomes a fight within the family, and every family has conflict. At the end of their father's life, Isaac and Ishmael came together and buried him together. As Rabbi Oz put it, we should not just get together at funerals, because funerals sometimes remind us "what's really important in life, and really what's important is family." Building a Shared Future is a joint program of several organizations, supported by Leap Forward and coordinated by the Abrahamic Movement, to advance dialogue and shared life between Jews and Arabs through field encounters, videos and podcasts. Program partners: Talking Peace (Siach Shalom), Bokra, Tawassul, the Jerusalem Interfaith Center and the Interfaith Incubator. #InterfaithDialogue #Coexistence

One conversation about my life, my military service and the political road that shaped my perspectives. A second about a peace formula for the Middle East. Two exclusive video interviews, coming soon. Beyond the Lines (@BTLinesNews), an independent journalism outlet covering Israel and the Middle East, has announced a collaboration with me. In their words: "Beyond the Lines is pleased to announce our collaboration with Tom Wegner, an Israeli author, former IDF soldier, and co-founder of the Abrahamic Movement. Drawing on experience in military service, Israeli politics and peacebuilding, Wegner explores possibilities for dialogue and regional cooperation. His book, The Abrahamic Revolution: A Middle Eastern Peace Formula, considers how the shared Abrahamic heritage of Judaism, Christianity and Islam might help build bridges between communities." On the two interviews: The Man Behind the Mission: "A personal conversation about his life, military experiences, political background and the journey that shaped his perspectives." The Abrahamic Revolution, A Vision for the Middle East: "A discussion of his book, the Abrahamic Movement, and the possibilities and challenges of regional cooperation." "Both conversations will be featured on the Beyond the Lines video page. We look forward to sharing his experiences and ideas with our audience while maintaining our independent editorial approach." Thank you very much to the Beyond the Lines team.

"A religion that connects people and doesn't separate people." That is what Rabbi Yoel Oz, President of the Abrahamic Movement in Israel and one of the founders of the Abrahamic Movement, said at a Jewish-Arab gathering in Haifa, part of the Building a Shared Future program: "the unifying symbol between all religions, between all the tribes in the Middle East – that we are all together. And with the Muslim Brotherhood there is a supremacy of their own, and that is not an Islam of inclusion and moderation – it is usually more extreme. And I think we are talking about a religion that connects people and doesn't separate people." Building a Shared Future is a joint program of several organizations, supported by Leap Forward and coordinated by the Abrahamic Movement, to advance dialogue and shared life between Jews and Arabs through field encounters, videos and podcasts. Program partners: Talking Peace (Siach Shalom), Bokra, Tawassul, the Jerusalem Interfaith Center and the Interfaith Incubator. #InterfaithDialogue #Coexistence #JewsAndArabs #Moderation

أزمة حقوق الإنسان في سوريا تخرج عن السيطرة وتهدد الأقليات. أصدرتُ للدكتور إيدي كوهين @EdyCohen، المبعوث الخاص للحركة الإبراهيمية لأزمة حقوق الإنسان في سوريا، كتاب مهمة أول ورسمي. وطلبت منه في الكتاب "دراسة أوضاع حقوق الإنسان والاحتياجات الإنسانية للأقليات في سوريا – ما الذي تحتاج إليه وما الذي ينقصها، وفي مقدمة ذلك الدواء والغذاء." بحسب كتاب المهمة الذي أصدرته له، تشمل المهمة: • الطوائف المختلفة في سوريا: الدروز، والعلويون، والمسيحيون، والكرد، والطوائف الأخرى – بما فيها الأحمديون وأقليات أخرى أصغر • حقوق الإنسان بصورة عامة • حقوق العلمانيين • حقوق المرأة • أوضاع حقوق الإنسان لأبناء الطوائف، بما في ذلك الأمن الشخصي والمجتمعي، وحرية المعتقد الديني، والتعرض للأذى أو التمييز على أساس الهوية • الاحتياجات الإنسانية: الأدوية والخدمات الطبية، والغذاء، وغير ذلك من النواقص الأساسية "نسعى إلى القيام بمهمة لتقصي الحقائق في سوريا برئاسة الدكتور كوهين. وفي الوقت نفسه، يشمل تفويض المراجعة كل وسائل إنشاء الاتصال — بما في ذلك الاستفسارات والتواصل مع ممثلي سكان سوريا والأقليات، والمحادثات، والمواد المكتوبة — ولا يعتمد على زيارة ميدانية فعلية." المخرَج الذي حددته في كتابي: "تقرير مهمة مكتوب يعرض النتائج بحسب كل طائفة، والاحتياجات الأكثر إلحاحًا، وتوصيات بخطوات عملية تتخذها الحركة الإبراهيمية"، خلال 60 يومًا. سيُقدَّم تقرير إيدي النهائي إليّ وإلى سامي نوفل، المدير التنفيذي للحركة الإبراهيمية في سوريا. شكرًا جزيلًا لإيدي على الدور المهم الذي أخذه على عاتقه.

The Quran is more Zionist than Islamists want you to believe That is the headline of my op-ed in the @Jerusalem_Post. It is a foundational piece for me, as a co-founder of the Abrahamic Movement. It started with an interview I gave to the Lebanese journalist Maria Maalouf. As I wrote: "I argued that the Quran can be read as a Zionist document. This claim caused quite a stir, yet it built a crucial bridge between Zionism and Islam, which is essential for establishing peace in our region." In the piece I ask the two questions Zionism answers: What is the land of the Jews, and to whom does the Land of Israel belong? A reading of the Quran, I wrote, "reveals a surprising agreement between Zionism and Islam on these two foundational issues." "The Quran itself recognizes the Children of Israel’s right to their land." There, Moses tells his people: "My people, go into the holy land which God has ordained for you..." (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:21) "At the very least, the Quran makes it impossible to honestly claim that the Jewish connection to the Holy Land is foreign to Islam." The Children of Israel are so central to the Quranic narrative that Surah 17 is traditionally known as both Al-Isra and Bani Isra’il. And the verse that matters most to me, the one I called "perhaps the most important quote that has eluded us in the Quran": "Argue only in the best way with the People of the Book, except with those of them who act unjustly. Say, ‘We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you; our God and your God are one [and the same]; we are devoted to Him.’" (Surah Al-’Ankabut 29:46) The piece does not stop at verses. In Sweida, Israel is protecting the Syrian Druze from jihadist attacks. East of Khan Yunis, Palestinian clans and local organizations that oppose Hamas are receiving Israeli backing. "The message radiating from these activities to the region is that the door is open, and Israel’s umbrella is not limited to Jews alone." And more and more people in the Middle East define themselves as Muslim Zionists, Lebanese Zionists, Iranian Zionists, Alawite Zionists and Kurdish Zionists. The greater test is still ahead: can the Zionist idea provide the blueprint for rebuilding Sweida and Khan Yunis as free (though not necessarily independent) societies, tolerant in nature, and advancing toward prosperity?

The human rights crisis in Syria is spiraling out of control and threatening its minorities. I have issued Dr. Edy Cohen (@EdyCohen), Special Envoy of the Abrahamic Movement for the Human Rights Crisis in Syria, his first official mission letter. In it, I asked him "to examine the human-rights situation and the humanitarian needs of Syria’s minorities – what they need and what they lack, first and foremost medicine and food." In the mission letter I issued him, the mission includes: • The various communities in Syria: the Druze, the Alawites, the Christians, the Kurds, and the other communities – including the Ahmadis and additional smaller minorities • Human rights in general • The rights of secular people • Women’s rights • The human-rights situation of community members, including personal and communal security, freedom of religion, and harm or discrimination based on identity • Humanitarian needs: medicine and medical services, food, and other essential shortages "We are working toward a fact-finding mission to Syria headed by Dr. Cohen. At the same time, the mandate of the review includes every means of establishing contact – including inquiries and engagement with representatives of Syria’s residents and minorities, conversations, and written materials – and does not depend on a physical visit on the ground." The expected output I set in my letter: "A written mission report presenting findings by community, the most urgent needs, and recommendations for action by the Abrahamic Movement", within 60 days. Edy's final report will be submitted to me and to Sami Nofal, CEO of the Abrahamic Movement in Syria. Thank you very much, Edy, for taking on this important role.