In cooperation with the Alliance Foundation, DialoguePerspectives supported the project “Jewish-Muslim Initiated Flintahood” as part of its Jewish-Muslim solidarity programme. Also funded by OFEK e.V., the project focuses on building networks among Jewish and Muslim women*.
Insights and reflections from the organisers:
In a time marked by increasing dehumanisation, lack of empathy, and the rise of racism and antisemitism, a Jewish-Muslim initiated feminist alliance is sending a clear message: solidarity. But how can solidarity be meaningfully lived out beyond symbolic gestures in a world shaped by contradictions and power structures?
This question lies at the heart of the alliance’s work. Its aim is to learn and practise solidarity collectively – in a way that empowers individuals and communities alike. The focus is on mutual support and developing ways to resist the widespread sense of political and societal powerlessness. Solidarity should not remain a mere ideal; it must be actively lived and sustained.
A central prerequisite for this is the creation of spaces for encounter – spaces outside the dominant society, free from instrumentalisation, where exchange, empowerment, and mutual understanding are possible.
At the first public networking event in November 2024, many participants expressed deep appreciation for this newly created space – a place where they didn’t have to explain themselves and where they were met with genuine understanding. This momentum led to the organisation of a second gathering on 8 May 2025, hosted at the cultural venue Oya in Cologne. FLINTA individuals from diverse backgrounds and generations came together. Some had attended the previous meeting; new faces also joined – creating meaningful conversations and deepening interpersonal connections. The exchange between communities proved to be a powerful act of resistance against efforts to pit them against one another.
Building on these encounters, a full-day workshop on the theme of solidarity took place on 1 June 2025, facilitated by Elif Gökpinar and Anna Feldbein (Ofek), both of whom have extensive experience in anti-racist, antisemitism-critical and solidarity-based alliance work. Participants shared personal experiences, reflected collectively, and explored ways to integrate these insights into a sustainable, long-term alliance.
A quote by Audre Lorde shaped the workshop’s core message:
“You do not have to be me in order for us to fight alongside each other. I do not have to be you to recognise that our wars are the same.”
This idea – that solidarity also requires tolerance of ambiguity and the ability to hold multiple realities at once – ran like a thread through the entire day. Through a combination of input from the facilitators and practical exercises, the often abstract concept of solidarity began to take on tangible meaning. The workshop was not only about sharing knowledge, but also about sparking personal reflection: solidarity cannot be learned in a single day – it is an ongoing process.
The workshop concluded with a shared meal of delicious Lebanese food, followed by dancing two traditional dances together – a Jewish-Yemenite and the Kurdish Halay. This symbolic and lived connection marked another important step toward strengthening and building Jewish-Muslim initiated solidarity.
