Muslim clerics go to JTS for the day

The Forward reports on plans to launch a new Interfaith training institute, which is supposed to produce 'moderate' leaders from the three major faiths. The proposal was unveiled this week in NY and Boston:

"Partially funded by the U.S. Department of State, the interfaith summit assembled Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant, Islamic and Jewish religious leaders from around the world to study biblical texts and begin planning for the joint-training institute. The group spent Tuesday at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the flagship institution of Conservative Judaism, interpreting and debating the Jewish, Muslim and Christian versions of the story of Abraham's binding of Isaac."

As The Jerusalem Post says, "It's not every day that a group of Muslim clerics from Arab countries goes to a Conservative rabbinical school to study Torah." It also quotes a Jordanian participant who said, "This is the first time I met any religious Jews."
The problem is, some have told the Forward, that some of the Muslim participants are well-known fundamentalists, who have publicly approved of 'martyrdom operations' against Israelis and have denied the existance of a Jewish temple:

"If they condone the murder of Israeli civilians saying suicide bombing is legitimate, they are not the kind of people that should be involved in a dialogue," said Yehudit Barsky, director of the department of counter-terrorism at the American Jewish Committee.

Of-course, the opposite is true: If they condone the murder of Israeli civilians, they are exactly the kind of people who should be involved in dialogue, if they are willing and genuinely open to it. Those are the people whose opinions most need to be changed, who most need to understand the humanity of the other side, the ones we can make the largest difference to.
It would be different had Barsky objected to these extremists embarking on a speaking tour of a Western country, for example. Their views are despicable and they should not be allowed to spread hatred. The context of dialogue, however, is what makes the difference here; they are coming to listen and to learn and are making a gesture merely by being there.
There are simply too many dialogue groups around where moderates end up speaking to moderates. But the old cliche holds true: you don't make peace with your friends but with your enemies. I hope that there are some really conservative (with a small 'c') Jews in that group too.