SHIUR Midsummer middle east dream Reatreat: middle east Emigres and allies
June 19-21, 2026| Germany
ABOUT THE RETREAT
This year's SHIUR Midsummer Retreat brings together a group of young political dissidents and humanist thinkers from the Middle East and beyond, alongside artists, young diplomats, and creatives for an immersive Shabbat weekend of workshops and community building. The retreat explores the role that exiles and émigrés in Europe play in shaping the New Middle East.
Through text-based discussions, time in nature, movement, ritual, and good food, participants will explore the intellectual traditions and rituals that shape one another's worlds. Jewish participants will encounter Iranian and Arabic speaking humanist thinkers, while Arabic speaking and Iranian participants will engage with Jewish and Israeli humanist thought that helped shape modern Israel. Together, we will examine humanist critiques of ideology through figures such as Raymond Aron, Yosef Haim Brenner and Sadiq Al-Azm, exploring political polemics that challenge dogma from within their respective traditions.
Participants will be exposed to the different traditions from our various cultures, Druze, Yazidi, Iranian, Jewish, and more. Non-Jewish participants will experience the beauty of Shabbat in a spirit of openness and shared discovery, rooted in the understanding that Shabbat is a tradition and a bridge found across the Middle East. Jewish participants will experience the warmth and richness found within other Middle Eastern minorities.
The retreat is designed to cultivate intellectual familiarity and personal bonds that are difficult to forge in formal panels or official settings that can give rise to new perspectives and partnerships–ultimately leading to impact and mutual support within our different communities.
Follow-up gatherings, both in person and online, will ensure continued collaboration, mutual support, and the strengthening of an ongoing intellectual and creative network.Gourmet vegan food catered by At The Table Berlin.
Costs (incudes full programming, accommodation, and food):
EARLY BIRD
Shared Room: 450 euros
Private Room: 900 euros
We have subsidies for students and activists from the Middle East.
Please apply below.
ABOUT US
SHIUR is a multidisciplinary community and global organization that brings together participants from all backgrounds to engage with humanist texts through seminar and salon-style discourse. Drawing on the Jewish tradition of text-based learning, SHIUR challenges ideological and dogmatic thinking by creating space for rigorous, open intellectual exchange across disciplines, traditions, and identities.
Since October 7, SHIUR has deepened its work connecting political dissidents and humanist thinkers from Arab and Iranian backgrounds with Jewish and Israeli thought and tradition and vice versa. Through this work, SHIUR promotes genuine value based coexistence, challenges antisemitism, and cultivates new perspectives at a moment when such encounters are urgently needed.
SHIUR operates chapters in Berlin, New York, Miami, Tel Aviv, and other cities, and runs retreats, events, and digital programming worldwide.
KEy participants
Hamza Howidy (Palestine) Germany based peace and democracy activist and author. Palestinian delegate at World Liberty Congress. Based in Germany.
Hesam Misaghi (Iran) Iranian human rights activist, content creator and member of the Leadership Council for the MENA region at the World Liberty Congress. Based in Germany.
Omar Alkadamani (Syria) is a political advocate and speaker based in Germany, working on democracy, education, and youth political participation. He also engages in advocacy on minority rights, justice, and the protection of the Druze community. Based in Germany.
Viyan Hasso (Syria) Syrian Kurdish Yazidi activist based in Germany.
Maya Azzam (Syria) is a Suweida born human rights activist, musician, and artist who has been based in Germany since the war in Syria.
Abdalle Mumin (Somalia), Secretary General of the Somali Journalists Syndicate. Based in the UK.
Brandon Silver (Canada) international human rights lawyer, and Director of Policy and Projects at the Canada-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. Recipient of the 2024 Magnitsky Award for Outstanding Human Rights Lawyer. Based in Montreal.
Micki Weinberg (US) Founder of SHIUR. Based in Germany.
PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS RETREATS
