At this Ramadan dinner last night near a courtyard in Seattle's Eastlake neighborhood, there was a Leah Perlmutter, a Sarah Slonim and an Elana Feldman.

Around the rectangular table, these American teens, all Jewish, joined a dozen Muslim exchange students who had traveled from as far as Olympia.

Nearby, Amna Albaghli, a 16-year-old exchange student from Kuwait, whispered, "I've never met a Jewish person before."

In another context, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might color their relationships, but at last night's dinner, "we are all just people," said Majd Bani-Odeh, a 16-year-old exchange student who grew up in the West Bank, as she prepared Palestinian spiced rice and tabouli for her guests.

About two dozen local Jewish teens and Muslim exchange students participating in the U.S. Department of State's Youth Exchange and Study program brought food to the potluck.

The objective? To just hang out and to show that they "have more similarities than differences," said Maia Brown, a senior at the Northwest School, a private school on Capitol Hill.

The idea came from Bani-Odeh, who is living with Bob Geballe and Susan Kaufman, a Jewish couple in the Eastlake neighborhood, while attending Roosevelt High School as an exchange student.

Last year, as Geballe and Kaufman screened applications from potential exchange students, one caught their attention; it was written by a Palestinian girl, Bani-Odeh, who longed to taste life outside the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a life without curfews and checkpoints.

The couple wanted to make a difference in someone's life and figured they could with her. But would a girl who grew up in a neighborhood where most people hate Israelis be receptive to living with Jews?

"I come from a very open-minded family," Bani-Odeh said, adding that they never judge people before meeting them.

It has been a learning experience for both sides. The Palestinian teen learned about Passover and Jewish prayers. Geballe learned about Muslim customs and holy days.

It would be great if other Muslim and Jewish people could also have this cultural exchange, Bani-Odeh told Geballe one evening after dinner.

A few weeks ago, after she and Geballe watched a documentary, "Promises," which shows how some Israeli and Palestinian kids as young as 10 have already learned to hate each other, Bani-Odeh was inspired. She invited Muslim and Jewish students to the house to watch the documentary and chat during dinner.

"It just seems appropriate to do this during Ramadan, right after the Jewish holy day," said Geballe, a high-school teacher in the North Kitsap School District.

With Palestinian pop music blaring in the dining room, the teens shared a few pleasantries, some small talk about high-school life and teen angst — nothing earth-shattering.

But the conversation confirmed to Bani-Odeh what she has learned since coming to Seattle in August.

Strip away the politics and the religion, and everyone, the Muslims and Jews, "we are a lot alike."

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com