In this episode, we talk with Hana Bendcowsky, Program Director at the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations at the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue. For more than two decades, Hanna has worked at the heart of Jewish–Christian relations , creating programs that bring communities together across painful histories, unequal realities, and deeply felt fears.

Growing up as part of the majority in Israel shaped how she sees responsibility, empathy, and the moral weight of dialogue. In this conversation, she reflects on what happens when people carry trauma, faith, and identity into the same room, and why genuine encounter matters even, and especially, during times of war.

Hanna speaks candidly about the challenges of teaching religious literacy in a place where religion is often weaponised, and the quiet courage required to stay in conversation when everything around you pulls towards division.

This episode offers a grounded, human look at what interfaith dialogue can be when the stakes are unbearably high.

Watch the full video at www.commonhome.tv

Visit the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue to learn more about their work for peace in a time of war.

This premiere of In the Shadow of the Holy Land lays the foundation for the series; a commitment to good-faith conversation grounded in the equal dignity of every life.

Our guest is Br Peter Bray FSC, former Vice-Chancellor of Bethlehem University. He traces the modern history of the conflict, explains the differences between the West Bank and Gaza, and shows how occupation is lived through movement, checkpoints, and economic control. We also hear directly from Bethlehem University students about crossing the wall each day and why being listened to matters. Peter reflects on his goal to make education “an oasis of peace” and on the discipline of nonviolence. He shares how a solidarity Camino shaped his hope, and why telling the truth need not humiliate or hate.

Subscribe on YouTube or your favourite podcast app to catch next week’s episode with Hanna Bendcowsky of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish–Christian Relations.

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from us, and when you hear what we have been up to you’ll understand why we needed the time to get things right

We’re excited to share our new four-part mini-series, in Questions for the Modern World In the Shadow of the Holy Land: Identity and War. In this mini series we speak with:

• Brother Peter Bray, a New Zealander who spent years leading Bethlehem University
• Hanna Bendcowsky, an Israeli peace educator working in Christian-Jewish dialogue;
• Sami El-Yousef, a Palestinian Christian and CEO for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem;
• Fr David Neuhaus, an Israeli Jesuit born into a Jewish family in South Africa who has devoted his life to understanding between faiths.

If you’d like to watch the full version, it’s available now on our website and socials.

Thanks for listening. We look forward to sharing this journey with you.