ICCI's young adult programs are aimed at improving relations between Palestinian Arabs (Christian and Muslim) and Jews in the city of Jerusalem and in Israel in general. Our goal is to increase the ability of each participant in these programs to understand how each culture’s experiences (including religious values and historical narratives) have contributed to its self-perceptions and attitudes, as well as how individuals understand themselves within it. We hope to bring about change by enlisting young people from all three religions and increasing their knowledge of and empathy for each other, providing them with a basis, incentive and ongoing support to engage in dialogue and joint action projects.

It is no secret that Israel is a divided country: Jewish and Arab young adults are separated by both physical and psychological barriers. The great monotheistic religions of the region –Judaism, Christianity and Islam—are used as justification for hatred and violence, rather than the peaceful, humanistic values they promote.

ICCI's programs for young adults of these three religions, who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to meet, enable them to engage with each other in fruitful, long-term dialogue and to act together for the benefit of their communities.

ICCI's programs use aspects of religion and collective memory, often at the root of conflicts, to bring together young people, to help them understand each other and build a positive relationship, despite their differences.
Furthermore, ICCI's programs provide these young adults with the tools and support to engage in dialogue and action projects that will widen the circle of influence and touch other members of the community. This is done during an intensive, long period of several months or even a year for each long-term program.

ICCI views young people as potential catalysts for interreligious reconciliation, social action and improvement in their own communities as well as in the country at large. We seek to provide them with the tools to do so in several special programs:

Between Memory and Reconciliation is a program developed by ICCI for Arab and Jewish students from all over Israel, focusing on the theme of collective memory and religious and national consciousness. In 2009, we will host a group of Japanese students for a joint seminar in Jerusalem, to be followed by a study tour to Japan (particularly Hiroshima) in 2010. This program is done in partnership with Risho Kosei-Kai of Japan.

The Jerusalem Interreligious Young Adult Forum (JIYAF), established by ICCI in 2007, is the first such program in Israel. It comprises Palestinian and Jewish students studying at different colleges and universities in Jerusalem, who engage in dialogue and action projects in the city. In 2008-09, the program was funded by grants from the World Conference of Religions for Peace, the Embassy of the Netherlands to Israel and the Embassy of the U.S. to Israel.

The ICCI alumni program, currently in development stages, is a special long-term program aimed at graduates of all cycles of the JIYAF program as well as our other youth and young adult programs. It is our hope that this alumni program will become an expanded interreligious community of young people engaging together in dialogue and social activism, bringing East and West Jerusalem together and changing Jerusalem for the better.