A delegation of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze students from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and Georgetown University met last week with Pope Leo XIV and senior Vatican officials to promote dialogue and reconciliation.
According to Vatican News, this meeting was part of the second edition of the "Middle Meets" program and took place in Rome and Vatican City, lasting four days from November 2 to 5.
The event, promoted by the Vatican through the Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes, gathered 50 students from both Israel and the US who participated in "workshops, games, moments of reflection, and prayer," Vatican News reported.
The program's most anticipated moment was the meeting with Pope Leo XIV, which took place on Wednesday, November 5, during a General Audience.
Hebrew University initiative changes Israeli perspectives
The program “Middle Meets” was founded by the Hebrew University’s Entrepreneurship Club in the Humanities and fosters open discussions on conflict and coexistence.
Held in collaboration with the Vatican’s Scholas Occurrentes network, the visit emphasized the students’ shared commitment to building trust and hope across divides and reaffirmed the initiative’s mission to strengthen interfaith understanding even in times of conflict.
The "Middle Meets" program is "a series of facilitated proactive dialogues between college-aged students, developed in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict," the Hebrew University of Jerusalem stated.
According to the university, it was "Initiated by a group of university students in response to the current situation in the Middle East, the dialogues include Jewish and Palestinian Israeli students from various universities and academic backgrounds in Israel, as well as American students."