Left to right: Dr. Sharon Williams, Professor of Religious Studies, Iona University; Rabbi, Dr. Ken Kronish, Founding Director, Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI); Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, Br. John G. Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Catholic Studies (Iona).
Rabbi Dr. Kronish Discusses Israel/Palestinian Peace Initiatives
By Stephen E. Lipken
Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish, Founding Director Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) presented a seminar, “Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in Israel and Palestine: Is Peace Possible?” at Iona University, New Rochelle on March 3.
A noted rabbi, educator, author, and interreligious activist, Kronish has lived in Israel for 44 years. In his career, he has discussed the challenges as well as some of the hopes involved with peacemaking and peacebuilding in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Introduced by Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, Brother John G. Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Catholic Studies and Director of the Core Curriculum at Iona University, Rabbi Kronish asked: “Is peace possible? Is there any hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians?”
While no one can know for certain the answers to these questions, Rabbi Kronish did voice cause for optimism, citing Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s flight to Israel in 1977, which resulted in The Camp David Accords in 1979, the Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995, and the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, which went into effect on December 2, 1999.