Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, along with Ali Abu Awwad and Shaul Judelman, cofounded Roots – Judur – Shorashim, a joint Palestinian-Israeli grassroots peacemaking initiative dedicated to understanding nonviolence and transformation, where he currently remains director of international relations.

[1] An Orthodox rabbi, he also serves as the Executive Director and Community Rabbinic Scholar for the Jewish Studies Initiative of North Texas[2] and as coordinator for Faiths in Conversation, a framework for Muslim-Jewish-Christian interfaith dialogue which he found in 2012.

[3] A biography regarding his speaking engagements writes, “In these two capacities, he (Schlesinger) teaches adult education classes on Judaism and spearheads interfaith projects throughout the greater Dallas area.

He has invested a great deal in strengthening his Jewish education, having studied over ten years in Israeli Yeshivot, primarily at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and in an M.A.

The first part of his professional career was dedicated to teaching Jewish studies in various colleges and seminaries in the Jerusalem area, as well as in different frameworks in Florida and Texas.

Ten years ago in Dallas, Schlesinger began his work in cultivating interfaith dialogue and connections across faith and cultural backgrounds.

His website notes, “The experience of these trialogues inspired him to attempt to meet Muslims and Christians back in the Holy Land.

"[6] A small group of Israelis and Palestinians, inspired by the peacemaking work of Rabbi Menachem Froman, were meeting locally in the West Bank when Schlesinger returned to live in Alon Shvut.

And then, six months after we first met, we see that we have created something.”[9] Writing of this impetus, a spiritual mysticism, Schlesinger reflects, “My life has become so much more complicated as I hold within my consciousness two conflicting truths that are both valid.

On the other hand, he notes that living beyond one’s personal or inherited truth is a “very mind-expanding and soul-expanding experience because you realize that, even though you’ve left the place where you’re anchored, you’re in a process of expanding your truth and coming closer to a truer truth because it’s more inclusive and takes into account more nuances.”[9] In a 2016 article in the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, Schlesinger sent a message to Palestinians: “The way to undermine the occupation is to show us your humanity, to demonstrate to the vast majority of Israelis who dream of peace that the vast majority of Palestinians dream of the same thing.