By Nate Feldman
This Sunday, the Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society of Washington, DC will be hosting an event titled "Demonizing the Other: Lessons for Israel/Palestine and Beyond," at the Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington, VA. The event will be led by a Ron Kraybill, a veteran peacebuilder, who will focus on how demonization and dehumanization happens. Afterwards, attendees will gather into small groups to focus on what these terms mean to them and what they can do about them.
By Nate Feldman
"The Sea", a new Israeli film, about a Palestinian boy from the West Bank trying to visit the sea in Tel Aviv, won the Ophir Award, the Israeli equivalent of the Oscar's, for best picture.
The Israeli Minister of Culture threatened to cut funding to the Ophir awards because of this.
By Nate Feldman
Below is the script for my third edition of the Doomsday, USA video.
Josh: Hello, and welcome to Doomsday, USA, a peaceful, prosperous, pristine, yet sometimes petrifying place, where half of the inhabitants are humans, and the other half are monsters!
My name is Josh, and these are my partners, Kipper and Brownie, and together we are the co-founders and co-directors of MAHU: Monsters and Humans United, a non-profit organization dedicated to building better relationships between the different species in our community.
We run many projects in the area, but our most notable one is the Camp Doomsday summer camp, a beautiful location where young humans and monsters interact with one another and build lifelong relationships.
Despite our progress, we have dealt with a tragedy recently. Two staff members at our camp vanished without a trace while spending the night in the woods one stormy night. Their belongings were found scattered everywhere, mauled to shreds.
Locals have claimed to have spotted a brain-devouring zombie roaming the area, and many believe it is responsible for their disappearance.
Out of concern for our campers and staff, we may need to close down our camp while trying to solve the mystery of our missing counselors. But, that cannot get in the way of the work we are trying to accomplish. We must learn to live together with one another!
By Nate Feldman
Arab Labor was an Israeli TV show written by author Sayed Kashua, focusing on the cultural divide between Arabs and Jews. It aired between 2007-2013. The main character in the show is Amjad, an Arab journalist.
In the first episode, titled "The Car," Amjad is driving with his wife and daughter when he is pulled over by an Israeli security official. Amjad is confused because he doesn't understand how the guard knows he is Arab. He is speaking Hebrew and wearing clothes and deodorant that makes him not appear to be Arab. A colleague tells him it is the car he is driving. He drives a Subaru, a car that allegedly only Arabs drive. Meanwhile, he is criticized by his father for wearing a seatbelt in the village, something most people supposedly don't do.
When he eventually is able to get a Rover, a car his colleague said is considered a "Jewish" card, now he is saluted at checkpoints instead of pulled over.
Amjad also is asked by his supervisor to appear on a show to explain why Arabs have more car accidents than other groups in the country. He tells her it is because of the poor infrastructure, and she wants him to explain that on a talk show. However, the rebuttal is that the driving culture in the Arab sector is poor.
The show gives a unique perspective on the inner workings of Israeli culture, especially from an Arab standpoint, that is not often seen in many shows or programs.
By Nate Feldman
On Sunday, I took part in the annual Interfaith Unity Walk in Washington, DC. The event, put together by the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, brings together members of different religions to visit different houses of worship along Embassy Row in the northwest section of the city. Speakers at the event said it was the 20th anniversary of the first walk.
The day began at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, where people of different religious organizations were at tables giving information. Some notable groups there included the Abrahamic House, a place where people of various faiths live together, the Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society of Washington, and other faith-based initiatives in the Greater Washington area.
Afterwards, leaders of many faiths addressed attendees of the walk in the synagogue's main sanctuary.
From there, walkers visited a Catholic Church, a Sikh Gurudwara, a Greek Orthodox church, and the Islamic Center of Washington, DC. They also met with religious leaders of each faith to learn about their traditions.
Events like these show the potential of people of many backgrounds to live together in harmony when they listen to one another.
By Nate Feldman
Here's my second edition of the story Doomsday, USA, which is about Josh, an idealist in a town where humans and monsters are in conflict, and he tries to bring them together through different means despite the many challenges around him. Below the video is the script.
Welcome to Doomsday,
USA! My name is Josh, and my town is
a peaceful, pristine, prosperous, but at times petrifying place where half of the inhabitants are humans, and the other
half are monsters. As you know, humans
and monsters have been in conflict
with one another for ages, but I
don’t believe it has to be that way.
I am the co-founder and director of MAHU: Monsters and Humans United, an
organization dedicated to co-existence between the two
species. We at MAHU run many projects. We
have The Humane Society for Monsters, which
takes care of needy monsters in the
community. We also have the Camp Doomsday summer camp, where young
humans and monsters interact with
one another and form lifelong relationships.
Unfortunately, we’ve been dealing with a tragedy recently. Two staff members at Camp Doomsday, a human and a monster, who were a romantic couple, vanished without a trace while camping
in the woods one night. Their belongings were found scattered everywhere, mauled to shreds. Some eyewitnesses have claimed to have seen a
brain-devouring zombie in the area, dragging their bodies with visible chew marks on their limbs.
For that reason, we may need to suspend operations of the camp for a short while out of concern for the safety of our campers and our staff alike. But, we cannot let that get in the way of the work of our organization. We must learn to live together with one another!
Vocabulary:
1. pristine = untouched by humans; natural
2. prosperous = a place with great wealth or money
3. petrifying = very scary
4. inhabitants = people that in a place
5. in conflict = fighting with one another
6. ages = a long time
7. dedicated = committed to
8. co-existence = people of different backgrounds living together in peace
By Nate Feldman
Here is a video of The Coexistence Corner Show. In it, I talk about the Montgomery County Interfaith 5K, an event held annually in Boyds, Maryland to bring people of different religious traditions together.
By Nate Feldman
For the 9th time, people of various faiths gathered at the South Germantown Recreational Park in Boyds, Maryland for a 5k race. Sponsored by various local synagogues, churches, and mosques, the event preaches togetherness and community.
According to the race organizers, nine years ago there was anti-semtic graffiti found on a local synagogue. The race evolved from the idea that people from different religious communities should gather to see all they have in common and not live in ignorance.
Now, every Labor Day, people from many religions run up and down scenic hills in a race that highlights unity, not divisions.
Here are some pictures from the event on Monday, September 1, 2025:
