Brussels, 20/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Culture builds bridges between peoples, helping mutual comprehension. It is therefore able to act as an important vector in resolving conflicts and establishing lasting peace. This is the message that Jewish and Muslim intellectuals and thinkers gave the European Parliament on 19 February at the conference on “Culture and conflict resolution in Europe and the Middle East”. Participants more particularly discussed the best way to create links between Jews and Muslims so as to reduce tensions in Europe - where the two communities are housed - and also to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. Opening the event on behalf of European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Vice-President Isabelle Durant (Greens/EFA, Belgium) recalled how important it is to defend the essential values of tolerance and mutual respect.
The conference was also the occasion to present the Aladdin Project to MEPs. Launched under the patronage of UNESCO, this organisation addresses issues linked to racism and anti-Semitism, and tries to strengthen intercultural relations by encouraging mutual knowledge of history and cultures. Bastiaan Belder (EFD, Netherlands), the leader of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Israel who moderated the first session (“Rejection of the other in Europe and the Middle East, 70 years after the Holocaust”), paid tribute to the intellectuals from the two communities who work behind the scenes for recognition of the other - “they are bridge builders” from whom lessons should be learned, he said. Emer Costello (S&D, Ireland), chair of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council who moderated the second session (“Knowing the other”), said that the Aladdin Project is important because it contributes to identifying lasting solutions for stability and peace in the Middle East. (IL/transl.fl)