BERKELEY, Calif. — Judaism is a harsh, exacting faith condemning rebellious children to death by stoning. Islam exhorts Muslims to kill non-believers.

Neither statement, according to many Jewish and Muslim scholars, is true. But they are among the most persistent charges laid at the feet of Judaism and Islam by those who are unfamiliar with the basic holy texts of the other’s faith.

Hampered by such ignorance, how can Jews and Muslims engage in real interfaith dialogue?

A new graduate-level course in Berkeley, billed as the first of its kind, aims to rectify this failing, at least for the 40 or so students enrolled.

ISRAEL has one of the highest eating disorder rates in the world, according to Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a clinical instructor in Harvard Medical School’s department of psychiatry.

While there is sparse statistical data on American Jewish teens suffering from the potentially fatal affliction, Steiner-Adair suggests that Jewish cultural mores can reinforce the disorder.

“There is no other religion that I’m aware of where food is so deeply tied to religion, family ritual and culture than Judaism,” she says.