While inter-faith dialogue is heralded as a Canadian value, there has never been any such dialogue between the official leaderships of the Muslim and Jewish communities in Canada. Bernie M. Farber the former CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress and the retired Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute will examine this silence, the reasons behind it and some formulas to encourage open and honest dialogue between two faith communities that have more in common than they think.

Bernie M. Farber is a native of Ottawa and a graduate of Carleton University. His long career in the not-for-profit sector includes CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress (2005-2011) where he led many inter-faith initiatives and dialogues. Recently Bernie served as Senior Vice President of Gemini Power Corporation where he worked in partnership with First Nations peoples towards economic development and community self-reliance. He is the immediate past Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute, a “think and do” tank that works with diaspora communities to promote civil dialogue between diverse communities in conflict with each other.