Meron Mendel was born near Tel Aviv in 1976 and spent his childhood and youth in the kibbutz Mashabe Sade. He studied history, education and Jewish history in Haifa and Munich. Meron Mendel was already involved in peace initiatives during his youth and studies. He has been Director of the Anne Frank Educational Centre in Frankfurt am Main since 2010. Since 2021, he has also been Professor of Transnational Social Work at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. His book “Talking about Israel. A German Debate” (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) was nominated for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2023.
Meron Mendel and Saba-Nur Cheema have been involved in Jewish-Muslim dialogue for years, working against anti-Semitism and hostility towards Muslims and focusing in particular on the impact of the Middle East conflict on our coexistence in Germany. Together they write the monthly column “Muslim-Jewish Evening Meal” in the FAZ.