Ela Valley Convivium
My name is Raanan Mallek, a coordinator of Slow Food in Israel. I am honored to be here among the nations and especially honored to be able to have carried my flag as the representative when the President of Italy opened the event.
I would like to thank the Lebanese speaker yesterday for his positive concentration on the very important Slow Food issues concerning his country, and not speaking about the horrible war that took place between our two nations. I am proud to be part of a forum where enemies in the political world come together for a higher ideal. I sincerely see Slow Food as being an avenue to continue on the path for Dar-El Salaam (House of Peace) in the Middle East.
As a religious Jew, I have been trying for many years to bridge a path through holiness to our brother religion Islaam. As a historian, I remember reading of the days in Andallusia and Egypt where our two religions flourished together in the Middle Ages. Today we are here in Italy discussing food, and may very well be part of the historical process that will bring nations together.
Just as there are no borders between the countries of the EU today, so should there be no borders between Israel, Palestine and the rest of the neighbors of the Middle East. If we unite in the Spirit we can open avenues of trade for all nations which will inspire prosperity of the highest order.
To conclude, I would be honored to meet with any of the Muslim delegations (Iranian, Lebanese, Iraqi, etc.) who would like to begin a dialogue here in Turino. Who knows, maybe it can be a seed that will sprout the Dar-El Salaam we have all been praying for.
In Fraternal Shalom and Salaam,
Raanan Mallek
Coordinator
Ela Valley Convivium
Israel
Terra Madre delegate, 11:19:AM | Israel, Lebanon | Comment (1)
