Tom Wegner, Founder and Chairman of the global Abrahamic Movement, has announced the establishment of an Abrahamic Movement chapter inside Gaza, appointing Motaz Mohammed Almansi as its chairman. Wegner described the new chapter as “an alternative to hatred in Gaza” in a public statement, while noting that the appointment carries real personal risk for Almansi, who is undertaking the work from within the territory.

A Chapter Born From Shared Risk

Wegner’s announcement is notable both for what it establishes and for what it acknowledges. Rather than presenting the new chapter as a straightforward institutional milestone, he frames it explicitly around the danger Almansi faces by taking on a public, cross-border peacebuilding role from inside Gaza — a framing that underscores how fragile and consequential grassroots interfaith organizing remains in the territory.

“The existence of a Palestinian Abrahamic Movement and an Israeli Abrahamic Movement… is clear proof that it is possible to do things differently.” Tom Wegner, Founder & Chairman, The Abrahamic Movement

Central to Wegner’s message is a rejection of what he describes as mirrored narratives of erasure — the belief, held on each side, that the other’s national identity was constructed specifically to negate their own. By pairing a Gaza chapter with the movement’s existing Israeli chapter, Wegner presents the initiative as a direct, symbolic counterweight to that narrative: two national movements, operating in parallel, each recognizing the other’s right to exist and emphasizing kinship over conflict.

Who Is Motaz Mohammed Almansi

Motaz Mohammed Almansi
Chairman, The Abrahamic Movement in Gaza · Chairman, International Peace and Coexistence Alliance (SFA-CPC)

Almansi is an industrial engineer and manager who also chairs the International Peace and Coexistence Alliance (SFA-CPC). According to the announcement, he is committed to promoting peacebuilding, dialogue, and sustainable coexistence through community initiatives and strategic partnerships.

His work centers on humanitarian response, community empowerment, psychosocial support, and educational development in conflict-affected environments. Believing that investing in people is foundational to sustainable peace, Almansi’s efforts are described as focused on building trust, encouraging cooperation, and developing practical solutions that strengthen resilient, inclusive, and thriving communities.

Part of a Wider Regional Network

The Gaza chapter’s launch adds to a growing roster of national and regional Abrahamic Movement chapters that Faith & Freedom News has tracked across the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa — from Nigeria to Somaliland — each built around the same core premise: that recognition of a neighboring people’s identity and right to exist is a precondition for lasting peace, not a concession that undermines it.

Faith & Freedom News will continue to follow developments surrounding the Abrahamic Movement in Gaza and Almansi’s work as further details emerge.

Gaza Abrahamic Movement Interfaith Solidarity Israel-Palestine Peacebuilding Tom Wegner