Each month, Mrs. Karram joins a group of people from different faiths to talk about the Middle East and to pray for a peaceful solution. It's a small group, about 15, dedicated to the issue.

        Some, like Mrs. Karram, are Muslim. Others are Christian, Jewish or Bahai.

        Three years ago, the group came together to form Open House Cincinnati with a vision of building trust by working together on common goals and tasks.

        Open House Cincinnati held its first community event in February, a seminar on Israeli-Palestinian issues. On June 23, the group will offer a showing of the documentary “Promises.”

        The film features seven Palestinian and Israeli children from Jerusalem.

        The local organization is modeled after the Open House center in Ramle, Israel. The center's story is of two families from different faiths bound together by one house.

        In the 1940s, an Arab family lived in the house about 10 minutes from Tel Aviv. A son was born in 1942. The father planted a lemon tree in the back yard. By 1948, Jewish soldiers evicted the family.

        The next year, a Jewish family fleeing Europe settled in the home. They had a child about a year old.

        Years later, when the Jewish child was a university student, she heard a knock on the door. On the porch was an older Arab man and his son.

        The elderly gentleman went to the back yard, found the lemon tree he planted years before, and cried.

        In a country where faith divides, the two families came together and established Open House in 1991, a place for Israeli Jews and Arabs to work side-by-side.

        Today, the Open House in Israel has a summer peace camp, day-care center, Jewish-Arab parents network, teachers training program and international outreach program.

        The “Promises” program starts at 7 p.m. at Hope Church, 4934 Western Row Road in Mason.

        Minimum ticket cost is $10, although the group hopes to raise more money to pay for the next big project.

        In August, Open House Cincinnati is bringing 17 Israeli teens — eight Jewish and nine Palestinians — to the Queen City.

        The teens will meet with local youth groups, visit Paramount's Kings Island and rehearse for a drama production.

        But perhaps the most important thing they'll share is a message for Cincinnati, says Mrs. Karram, 41, of Indian Hill.

        “We want to learn from them how to get along and co-exist.”

        For more information: (513) 703-2100.

       For more religion listings, check out www.enquirer.com, keyword: events.
       
       Send religion news to rthompson@enquirer.com, or call Richelle Thompson at 755-4144.

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