Wahat al-Salam Neve Shalom has completed its first-ever outreach visit to Scotland, marking an important step in building new international partnerships and expanding support for the village’s work for peace, equality, and shared society. The visit was organised in partnership with Oasis of Peace UK and featured a programme of public events, political meetings, and media engagement.
Representing the village, Samah Salaime began the visit in St Andrews, where she spoke at St Andrews Episcopal Church, introducing new audiences to the story of Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam and its unique model of Jewish-Palestinian partnership. She shared the village’s work to promote dialogue, equality, and peace through education and community-building.
The programme continued in Edinburgh with meetings at the Scottish Parliament, where Samah met with Scottish Greens MSPs Holly Bruce and Kate Nevens, as well as Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton. The discussions focused on grassroots peacebuilding, inclusive societies, and the importance of supporting initiatives that bring communities together. We hope these conversations will lead to deeper partnerships, including welcoming political leaders and civil society representatives from Scotland to visit the village in the future.
The visit continued in Glasgow with a recording for The National‘s podcast, where Samah spoke about the work of Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam and the importance of continuing to build dialogue and equality in times of deep division. The episode is expected to be released in the coming week.
We are grateful to everyone who welcomed us throughout the visit, and especially to our partners at Oasis of Peace UK for helping make this important programme possible. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our ties with communities and partners across Scotland.
