When Naomi* was kidnapped in Syria by ISIS terrorists, she thought her life was over.

She was travelling on a bus to meet her two sons. Wearing the burka like a Muslim woman, she was quickly identified as a Christian when the gunmen demanded her name.

One of the many tasty dishes served during the Shared Table Project's feast. ( ABC RN: National: Rachael Kohn )

She was "the enemy". But not to one young man on the bus, who recognised his favourite primary school teacher.

To Naomi's complete surprise, the man came forward and said "she is with me" — demanding the gunmen kill him, rather than touch her. Fortunately, they both survived the experience.

Naomi, who now lives in Australia, owes her life to luck.

But to Natalie Tanne, a Jewish volunteer in the Shared Table Project, it was divine providence.

"I believe in angels and I believe in God," she says.

"I have deep faith, I'm not religious, but I have deep faith … we all have angels."

The Shared Table Project, now in its fifth year, brings women of diverse backgrounds together over food, to promote understanding and friendships.

An initiative of the Jewish Board of Deputies, this year the project has brought 20 recently arrived Syrian and Iraqi refugees together with Jewish women over a five-week period.

Each time they meet, they prepare food and share stories about themselves, their lives, their foods and their traditions.

Natalie is passionate about what the experience has done for her.

"We are one. Humanity is one and we just don't get it," she says.

"We're always saying 'its them and us, them and us'. We need more inclusion, more love in this world."

Tensions eased with food and friendship

Love songs fill the kitchen as the women sing, chop vegetables and dance around a long steel table in the Emanuel Synagogue's commercial kitchen in Sydney.

One of the women singing is Dalal, a young Syrian widow and music teacher.

Since her husband was killed in the Iraq war, she has been alone. Distressed by the ill health of one of her sons, she feels isolated from the church, which is too far away for her to attend.

Using an Arabic-to-English language app, Dalal explains that the Shared Table Project has lifted her spirits greatly.

Shared Table Project director Mel Don Port says many newly arrived refugees are filled with trepidation at the thought of meeting new people — let alone people from different faiths.

"For Muslim and Christian people it's all about never meeting a Jew before," she says.

The women create bonds of friendship at the dinner table.

"And for Jewish women, it's the idea of meeting a Muslim or a Palestinian, and … people have these demons.

"That first week is very important. So everyone brings a plate of food that reflects their culture. They introduce themselves and talk about what their food is. And all of a sudden you see the nervous tension relax."

Mel recalls a Syrian woman, Hasna, who was shaking when she arrived at the Synagogue, terrified of meeting Jewish people.

"At the end of that first week, she was the first one in class each week," she says.

"She was kissing us, and cuddling us and hugging — and in tears in the last week that she was saying goodbye to us."

Cooking together, sharing stories and making friends is a recipe for the kind of harmony we hold up as an ideal.

And these women have literally tasted it.

*Name changed for privacy reasons.