“I do not believe that interfaith dialogue will bring about peace in the Middle East, but I do believe that it is essential if peace is to be brought about. To ignore religion is a very grave mistake.”
-SHARON ROSEN

Sharon Rosen is co-director of Search for Common Ground’s (SFCG) Jerusalem office, following four years as its senior advisor and one year as acting director. She brought to the position nearly 20 years of managerial experience in the non-profit world and a wealth of expertise in strategic planning, personal development facilitation, counseling, mentoring and conflict resolution training. She is an expert on interfaith issues and is involved in various local and international initiatives. In addition to her role as co-director of projects in the Jerusalem office, Ms. Rosen serves as senior editor of the Common Ground News Service – Middle East.

Born and educated in London, England, Ms. Rosen has been living in Jerusalem nearly 30 years and has both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Hebrew University.

In 1975, when her husband Rabbi David Rosen began his tenure as Senior Rabbi in Cape Town, South Africa, Ms. Rosen developed her roles as a community leader, educator and counselor. Ms. Rosen has facilitated communication and personal development workshops in the fields of business, education and parenting, for thousands of people in as diverse places as Belgium, Malaysia, Israel and South Africa.

Throughout the 1990s, Ms. Rosen directed the education department of Gamida for Life, an international group of health care and related companies. An educator by nature, she taught on religious studies at the Jerusalem Center for Near East Studies, emphasizing contemporary relevance and gender issues in her lectures. In 1999, Ms. Rosen co-founded and directed Education for Life, a non-profit organization that provides tools for the development and wellbeing of children in the Israeli educational system, and subsequently served as its International Director.

Ms. Rosen is the mother of three and grandmother of four, all living in Israel. She is dedicated to finding ways to serve all the peoples of the region so that they and their descendents can live in mutual respect and harmony.