Pedalling on the path to peace
PEDALLING for Peace is an interfaith bike ride from Sydney to Melbourne aimed at promoting harmony and understanding between people of different backgrounds.
CHANTAL ABITBOL
TAKE four cyclists, each representing a different faith, team them up together and what do you get? Pedalling for Peace -— an interfaith bike ride from Sydney to Melbourne aimed at promoting harmony and understanding between people of different backgrounds.
The brainchild of the NSW State Zionist Council’s project manager Benji Holzman, the event will coincide with the Parliament of the World’s Religions to be held in Melbourne in early December.
“Ever since I drove an auto-rickshaw 4000 kilometres across India in a charity rally, I’ve been sort of obsessed with long-distance adventure rallies for a cause,” said Holzman, 26.
“When I first heard of the Parliament [of the World’s Religions], I immediately wanted to become involved … and the idea just came. It was too good not to turn it into a reality.”
The multi-faith team will leave Sydney on November 24, covering 1050 kilometres over nine days with a one-day break to observe Shabbat in Merimbula.
The team will arrive in Melbourne ahead of the event -— dubbed one of the world’s biggest interfaith gatherings -— which begins on December 3.
Organised in partnership with Together For Humanity Foundation and Shift International, the ride will be filmed for a documentary.
Holzman also plans to run an interfaith panel at a local community centre at each overnight stop.
“The primary objective of the ride is to inspire the youth and communities we reach with our message of tolerance and understanding between people of diverse backgrounds,” Holzman said.
“We hope to demonstrate that cooperation and unity between different religious communities is not only possible, but something to get excited about.”
Among those on the team are Jewish man Evian Gutman, Christian Colin Lee, Muslim Mohamad Assoum and Emily Alexander, of the Baha’i Faith.
Holzman, meanwhile, will ride alongside the riders in a support van.
“I would have loved to involve more riders and more religions. Unfortunately, we had to keep the team small to keep costs low, especially for this pilot year,” he explained.
“In future years, if the program continues, hopefully we’ll be able to expand the team to represent a broader cross-section of religious communities in Australia.”
Funds raised will support the project and similar interfaith and anti-prejudice education programs run by Together For Humanity. Donations: www.everydayhero.com.au/pedallingforpeace.
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