“And”, it’s the word most familiar to an initiative focused on unity between communities. Realizing that there are always two perspectives to a story and that two experiences are not mutually exclusive is a recurring lesson for many at the Tri-Faith initiative. Located at 13136 Faith Plz, the Tri-Faith Center aims to bring harmony among the three Abrahamic religions by showcasing the beliefs and values corresponding to each religion. This mission stands true even when the bridges that have been built are tested with immense weight.

Through the devastations occurring in Israel and Palestine, Tri-Faith recognizes the tragedies taking place between both the Jewish and Muslim communities. With so many members of Temple Israel and the American Muslim Institute (partners of Tri-Faith) working with each other on the day-to-day, grief can be seen throughout.

“The thing we’re doing that’s most important [to support each other through the conflict] is holding place and space for each other’s pain. There’s a lot of grieving happening, and my goal is to help people hold more than one truth. It is possible that the Jewish people can be terrified about the calls for extermination of the Jewish people and it is equally unacceptable for any kind of ethnic cleansing or the same feelings of extermination of Palestinian people to be felt by Muslims globally,” executive director of Tri-Faith initiative Wendy Goldberg said.

During such divisive times, many members of the community echo Goldberg’s message. Vice President and board member of the American Muslim Institute Hesham Basma empathizes with his peers but also his Jewish friends who are feeling the same whirlwind of emotions.

“It’s a very difficult time for all of us. We just have to try to understand and try to go through the history. It [this conflict] did not really start on October 7th, it’s been a very long conflict. We try to find common ground so we can build on what we can [and] show everyone around us we still can come together, we still can understand each other and try to just be a role model [for] the people around the world. It hurts on both sides, but we still can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and if people on both sides are committed to peace, we will see peace,” Basma said.

Basma is far from the only religious figure at the center that sees this conflict as a complex issue that has conflicted pain and suffering in both communities. The senior Rabbi of Temple Israel, Benjamin Sharff has been a part of the congregation for five months, and he sees clearly how important it is for the two communities to stick together and console one another. He finds one of the best ways to do that is by creating a safe space for communication.

“Most of the members of my community [Temple Israel] are proud supporters of the State of Israel, but it doesn’t mean we’ve always been proud supporters of the Israeli government. We are all deeply pained by the loss of innocent life, both on the Israeli and Palestinian side. We feel this overwhelming desire that we have to try and solve everything going on to the detriment of our relationships with people who are next door. We don’t have to solve the problems of the geopolitical world, it is our responsibility to work on our relationships with each other and encourage people to continue to see the divinity in each of their fellow human beings,” Sharff said.

Faith in a higher power when viewing such calamities may have the tendency to weaken but in many cases, faith flourishes in ways never seen before. Both Sharff and Basma testify to the persistence of faith.

“Such turmoil will bring the people together, a lot of community members are coming together in support. The activities [fundraisers] that we’ve had so far were very successful. The doctors, psychiatrists, and more told us ‘If you see any people are traumatized by this, please let us know how we can help.’ The community is coming together and I’m very positive that the Jewish community in the temple is coming together as well,” Basma said.

Sharff affirms this message of a now tighter-knit community and shows the effects of bonding.

“We’ve seen a lot of people really rally around Judaism because one of the unfortunate offshoots about this is you see a tremendous rise in anti-semitism. This is not to say people don’t have the right to criticize the Israeli government or go protest in front of the consulate or the embassy, that I think is a civic obligation, but when you attack a

Jewish business [or] protest in front of a synagogue, that’s no longer a civic protest, that’s anti-Semitic acts. We have a long 2,000-year-plus history of being

vilified, so people are coming here:one,because they want to be able to be in a safe Jewish space, [and] two, because they want a space where they can have a conversation about their divergent opinions about what’s going on,” Sharff said.

With their faith ever-growing, so does their desire to help others through these periods of need. Looking at the complexities of the situation from every angle, Tri-Faith is working towards building even stronger bridges and reiterating the goal that started it all, unity. As everybody thinks about how to form unison, the word “and” reappears in mind, realizing that there are two truths to a complicated affair.