A pioneering partnership between AIC and the American Jewish Committee, “Witness” focuses on human stories to educate the public about Muslims’ and Jews’ shared history in the Middle East and shared stake in protecting human rights in the region. The “Witness” series looks beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s headlines to stories of individuals who have endured human rights repression elsewhere in the region. Building common ground by sharing parallel experiences, the series presents a new prism through which to view Muslim-Jewish relations.
Events are typically thematic – e.g., “Behind Bars” – and feature speakers sharing deep personal stories, sometimes revealing suffering never before spoken about in public. Panels have included an Iranian poet jailed for dissident writings, a Libyan Jew expelled during the tumult of 1967, and a Moroccan student threatened at knifepoint by extremists on a university campus.
Below is a video from AIC’s December 2011 Witness Series event in D.C.: “Mistaken Identity: Personal Experiences of Racial Profiling in Post-9/11 America”
