Archive for the ‘judaism’ tag
Rebranding Interfaith
by Rabbi Sarah Bassin
Inspired. Energized. Confused. Naïve. I had asked a Jewish audience to share a single word to capture their thoughts of my presentation on Muslim-Jewish relations. I had spent the last hour painting a picture of the broken communication between Jews and Muslims over the last 20 years – the public spats, the failed dialogues and the wounded relationships. I devoted the last portion of the session to envisioning a more positive paradigm and cultivating the tools to get us there.
Some people entered the session eager to acquire the skills needed to strengthen relationships with the Muslims who share their city. They had witnessed the breakdowns but refused to think of “Muslim-Jewish” as synonymous with “conflict.” They walked away from the session recharged. Inspired. Energized.
Others entered as skeptics, poised to dismiss interfaith work as a charming but ineffective effort to bridge an unbridgeable chasm of differences. The cycle of conflict exists for a reason and those who champion engagement with the other don’t understand the threat to their own community. Openness and vulnerability lead to exploitation. Interfaith activists are unrooted. Confused. Naïve.
Those words may have felt cutting in the moment but they were also a gift. It was early in my work as the Executive Director of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change though I had long been devoted to interfaith relations. As someone who grew up with a mixed religious background, the importance of interfaith was engrained in my Jewish identity. But my own experience blinded me to the experience of those for whom interfaith was not a self-evident good. It was beyond my worldview that someone could see interfaith engagement not only as superfluous but as threatening. I realized that I needed to take a step back and explain why the work matters in the first place. More specifically, I needed to make a compelling case for why the work matters to them.
There is something that feels base about using the language of self-interest to undergird interfaith work. I imagine that many of us find ourselves committed to interfaith activism because our highest ideals have led us down this path. As someone who chose to become a rabbi to pursue a career in interfaith relations, I certainly felt compelled by the holiness of the endeavor. My tradition demands it of me. The Jewish philosopher Emanuel Levinas captures my deeply held belief with his claim that we experience divine commandment through the face of the other.
But I am also in this line of work because I believe wholeheartedly that a commitment to interfaith relations and Muslim-Jewish relations in particular tangibly benefits the Jewish people. This work is, as they say, “good for the Jews.”
As a teenager and young adult, I despised the “good for the Jews” cliché. It seemed to be an excuse for isolation, a justification for turning a blind eye to the plight of others. But those excuses represent a narrow interpretation of what is good. Those justifications conflate that which is in our self-interest with that which is self-serving.
Asking whether something is “good for the Jews?” is actually a useful question. As my colleagues in community organizing assert, acknowledging one’s self interest is the first important step to social change.
When I engage Jewish audiences now, I open by speaking to that self-interest. I lay out the vast overlapping domestic agendas between the American Muslim and Jewish communities and spell out the missed opportunities for collaboration. I articulate how changing demographics will impact Jewish community relations. Jews are becoming a smaller proportion of the American population and we will need to rely more heavily on coalitions. I cite how the younger generations of Jews understand “Jewish values” more universally than their parents did. Interfaith activism thus has a role in engaging these generations’ Jewish identity.
No part of me imagines that I will transform every skeptic in an hour by framing Muslim-Jewish relations in terms of Jewish self-interest. But I often see something click for Jewish audiences when I cite the 2010 Gallup poll that directly links anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The single greatest predictor for whether someone holds Islamophobic beliefs is whether they also hold anti-Semitic beliefs. This simple statistic reframes the issue from an abstract good to a concrete need. Combating Islamophobia is not some altruistic endeavor for Jews rooted in the collective memory of our own historical persecution. It is a strategic approach to prevent latent anti-Semitism from resurfacing today.
The rhetoric that we use to describe our work serves to undermine or enhance the power of our impact. Early on, a supporter once described NewGround as “the ones getting everyone to love each other.” She soon learned that this does not begin to capture what NewGround does. We equip Jews and Muslims with the tools, space, and relationships to identify what matters to people in both communities– our fears, our values, our narratives and aspirations. Sometimes, the conversation feels uncomfortable because interests do not always align (for example, we do not expect everyone to agree about how to handle the conflict in the Middle East). But the willingness to articulate what is at one’s core creates the foundation for a more honest and trusting partnership when there is alignment. At NewGround, we are not the ones getting everyone to love each other. We are the ones transforming intergroup relations in Los Angeles from a civic liability into a communal asset.
There will always be a core of people drawn to interfaith work for its more abstract ideals – people who need no convincing of interfaith’s inherent value. But our goal ought to include preaching beyond the choir. There is no shame in rebranding interfaith as savvy and strategic, substantive and smart. Interfaith is all of these things and there is much to be gained by speaking of our work from this angle. Those poised to call us naïve may instead walk away energized. And those who thought us confused may instead find themselves inspired.
Rabbi Sarah Bassin is the Executive Director of NewGround: A Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change.
Food, Faith, Peace Focus of Interfaith Seder in Pomona, California
Ding Elnar-Wicker, of Claremont, breaks apart matzah, a bread used in the Jewish passover seder, Sunday, April 1, 2012 at the Islamic Center of Claremont. Elnar-Wicker and others participated in an interfaith seder held by the Claremont Interfaith Working Group for Middle East Peace. Khai Le/Correspondent.
by Jannise Johnson
from the Daily Bulletin
POMONA – For the second straight year, an interfaith Seder has been hosted in what some would consider an unusual venue.
The Islamic Center of Claremont, which is actually 3642 N. Garey Ave. in Pomona, held the event called “From Slavery to Freedom, An Interfaith Seder Experience” on their quad.
The mosque provided tents, tables and chairs for visitors from both the Islamic center, various churches and Jewish temples.
Traditional Seder foods such as Matza and eggs were placed at each of the tables. In addition traditional foods, olives, oranges and humus also made an appearance.
All foods eaten during the Seder meal are symbolic. Olives symbolize peace in the Middle East and the orange symbolized fruitfulness “that occurs when even the most estranged among us are welcomed as contributing and active members of our communal life,” according to information placed at each table.
A Jewish Synagogue Makes a Comeback in Lebanon
Two Syrian workers in the Magen Abraham synagogue. Photo Credit: Natalie Naccache
by Nicholas Blanford
from the Christian Science Monitor
Amid the new tower blocks that are changing this city’s skyline rises a newly restored symbol of Beirut’s multireligious society.
The Magen Abraham synagogue is the last Jewish place of worship to survive in Beirut, a lone reminder that a few decades ago a thriving Jewish community lived in the city center.
The Jewish faith is one of the 18 officially recognized sects that exist in Lebanon. When the synagogue was built in 1920 there were some 12,000 Jews in Lebanon. But the Arab-Israeli conflict and Lebanon’s devastating 1975-90 civil war spurred Jews to emigrate, and today there are only around 150 left here.
Interfaith Effort Boosts Latin Ties: Jews and Muslims Meet to Work Out Differences
by Nathan Guttman
from The Jewish Daily Forward
WASHINGTON — While international attention is focused on relations between Jews and Muslims in Europe, following the Toulouse shooting, attempts are under way to strengthen ties between the two religious communities in another region: Latin America.
A group of Muslim and Jewish leaders from Latin American and Caribbean nations came to Washington on March 26 as a first step in an effort to forge partnerships between the communities.
The program is an initiative of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which has been organizing Muslim–Jewish dialogue events in the United States and in Europe in which synagogues twin with mosques, and leaders of the two faith communities work together on issues relating to anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and Middle East peace.
Strengthening Muslim-Jewish Ties in the Face of Evil
Jewish and Muslim leaders attend a silent march on March 25 to honor the victims of the Ozar Hatorah school shooting in Toulouse, France. Photo by REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
by Marc Schneier and Shamsi Ali, JTA
from Jewish Journal
As a rabbi and an imam, we deeply mourn the tragic loss of innocent lives in the murderous terrorist attacks in France. We express our heartfelt sympathy and compassion for the bereaved.
Amid the wall-to-wall media coverage of the attacks and their aftermath, one piece of the story has received less attention: the inspiring manner in which Muslims and Jews in France have stood side by side in denouncing these heinous acts.
Thousands of Muslims and Jews reacted to the savage killings of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse and the earlier murders of three French soldiers, including two Muslims, by joining together in solidarity marches in communities throughout Paris.
Religious Leaders Press for a ‘Faithful’ Budget to U.S. Congress
by Jerry L. Van Marter
from Presbyterian News Service
More than three dozen religious leaders today (March 22) unveiled a “faithful budget” that they say will address the nation’s needs and priorities rather than partisan political considerations.
According to a press release from the “Faithful Budget Campaign,” its priorities for a faithful budget are a set of comprehensive and compassionate budget principles that will protect the common good, value each individual and help lift the burden on the poor.
The “Faithful Budget lays out ideas for restoring economic opportunity, ensuring adequate resources for the country’s fiscal needs, fostering true security, reducing poverty and hardship, taking responsibility for future generations, caring for the environment, improving access to health care and recognizing the robust role of government in combating poverty,” the group said in unveiling its proposal at a Washington press conference.
“Drafted by Jews, Christians, Muslims and other faith leaders, the ‘Faithful Budget’ embraces our role as a united nation to take care of the most vulnerable among us, while making balanced investments in our future,” said Parsons in a prepared statement read by Nelson after Parsons’ flight was delayed.
“By following our sacred imperative to ‘love our neighbor as ourselves,’” Nelson said, “we not only can pass a budget that makes sense, but pass a budget that begins to create a more just society and a healthier world.”
Endorsed by 37 religious denominations and organizations, the proposal is a call to Congress and the President to enact a budget that “enhances the well-being of all Americans and to make a good faith increase in funding for the impoverished and the vulnerable here and abroad in fiscal year 2013,” the group’s press release states.
“For too long, our nation’s political leaders have fallen into a trap of starting with an arbitrary top-line budget number and then working within its parameters to fund the programs on which we all rely. Rather than follow Washington’s example, the Faithful Budget focuses on our national needs and priorities,” said Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby.
“We hope our Faithful Budget model can serve as a model that Congress and the Obama Administration can use to help build a more perfect union,” she added.
Faith Inspires: The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development
from Huffington Post
This week’s Faith Inspires highlights the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), a Jerusalem-based organization of inter-religious leaders who promote environmental consciousness and responsibility together. Through their Seminary Students Sustainability Program, Muslim, Christian and Jewish students learn side-by-side about sustainability and co-existence. The organization leads “eco-tourism” trips throughout the Holy Land. And on March 19, ICSD will host the Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference, which will bring together a diverse group of religious leaders to talk about the religious imperative to protect the earth.
A Muslim Chaplain who Matters for Non-Muslims, Too
by Noah J. Silverman
from Common Ground News Service
New York, New York – In 1924, Norman De Nosaquo, a Jewish student at the University of Wisconsin, wrote a letter to the editor of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle in which he observed, “It is only through organised groups [that one can] accomplish anything of good for the advancement of the knowledge of the Jewish people.” The occasion of the letter was the recent establishment of a new institution at the University of Illinois – the first of its kind – dedicated to proactively helping Jewish students maintain and strengthen their Jewish identity.
De Nosaquo called for Jewish leaders in Wisconsin to “launch a state-wide campaign for a community house for the Jewish students” at the University of Wisconsin as well. The name of this nascent Jewish student organisation was Hillel. The word “Hillel” derives from the name of a rabbinic sage from the first century, now famous for the ethic of reciprocity: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” A few months later, Hillel expanded to the University of Wisconsin. Nearly 100 years later, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life serves students at over 500 college and university campuses across North America.
The story of Hillel’s creation, growth and success is not only one of the major accomplishments of the Jewish community in America in the 20th century, it is also a distinctly American story of which citizens of all religious backgrounds should be proud. As President Obama noted in his inaugural address, “We know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers.”
It is also a story that is now repeating itself with the American Muslim community.
Earlier this year, the University of Michigan welcomed the first endowed Muslim chaplain at a public university. Mohammed Tayysir Safi, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan and a University of Michigan alumnus, reflected that without institutionalised leadership, “There’s not a solid environment where a Muslim feels . . . safe – as in they feel safe and at home in being able to express themselves and who they are.” Safi is looking forward to serving both the Muslim and non-Muslim population as a counsellor, advocate and general resource on Islam on campus.
As an American and as a Jew, I was thrilled to hear this news, not least because I know first-hand the importance of strong religious leadership and institutions for college-aged youth. The establishment of organised Jewish campus life over the course of the 20th century had a profound and existential impact on my life: my parents met on the steps of the Hillel building at the University of Pennsylvania. When I attended Connecticut College, I served as president of our local Hillel chapter.
Muslim Students Have a Right to Privacy
By Erica Shaps
From Huffington Post
When I was on a Brandeis University Hillel first year retreat, it never crossed my mind that the police might be watching me. It sounds silly and irrational. However, after the Associated Press disclosed a New York Police Department (NYPD) program monitoring and investigating college students involved with Muslim Student Associations (MSAs) last week, this worry is entirely legitimate, especially for my Muslim peers across the Northeast.
I am a Jewish undergraduate born in the Chicago area attending college in Boston. Why does this matter to me?
I think about how much I cherish my campus’ religious diversity. I recall the distrust directed at the Jewish community historically and feel obligated to speak out. As a student involved with religious life on campus, when I read about the NYPD’s surveillance program I can’t help but feel violated.
I was most appalled while reading that an undercover officer joined City College of New York Muslim Students on a rafting trip, wrote down their names and recorded how many times a day they prayed. On my retreat two years ago, I prayed three times a day. Does this make me more threatening? If I were Muslim and not Jewish, would my name be on a list filed with my local police department? My ability to send e-mails to the Hillel listserv without concern that someone may be reading them feels like a luxury.
It is particularly upsetting that these secret investigations happen on college campuses. Call me idealistic, but I see the university as hallowed ground: a unique space for young adults from incredibly diverse backgrounds to form a community around the shared values of education and open-mindedness. Two weeks ago, Brandeis Hillel and MSA hosted their second annual joint Shabbat dinner and Friday evening program. We exchanged stories and traditions and built relationships over shared food. This event, in direct contrast to the suspicion caused by excessive monitoring, represents the epitome of American values and academic ideals.
Yes, the NYPD has legitimate security concerns and a right to investigate potential threats. However, a broad surveillance of university MSAs, including those outside of New York, is excessive and unwarranted. Justice Louis Brandeis, my university’s namesake, was a firm believer in the right to privacy. He was among the first to provide a legal framework for this concept in his landmark dissenting opinion in Olmstead v. United States.
Jewish and Muslim Students Can Work Together Against Prejudice
By Nabil Ahmed
From the Guardian
There are more than 110,000 Jewish and Muslim students in Britain, but it’s not often their shared experiences are considered. Globally, Muslim-Jewish relations are a touchy topic, with the focus on political divisions (such as Palestine-Israel), and an assumption of historical enmity. I have felt this cold, polarising air from both communities, whose leaders seem unwilling to address it.
But born and raised in Alwoodley, Leeds, I grew up with more Jewish than Muslim friends, and realised our startling similarities. The National Jewish Student Survey in 2011 showed the day-to-day issues facing Jewish students. In the main these concerned passing exams and finding a job, but Judaism also played a strong role in encouraging them to support and give to ethical causes. Two out of five had experienced an antisemitic incident in the last year, although just 4% were “very worried” about antisemitism at university.
The Greater London Authority research into the experiences of Muslim students in 2009 suggested a similar experience, both of Islamophobia and of getting the best out of life on campus. Muslim students are engaging in social activism and are concerned about welfare needs, but have the same day-to-day concerns as other students. In summary, young Muslims and Jews want to enjoy their university years, get good jobs and make a difference.
But in 2012, there are troubled waters ahead. Internationally there is the threat of a war with Iran, which could stoke inter-community tensions – and antisemitism and Islamophobia have not gone away. January saw a vile Nazi-themed drinking game, on a ski trip organised by the LSE athletics union, which was rightly condemned. Also at LSE there was the Islamophobic harassment of a Muslim student after religious sensitivities were provoked by the Atheist Secular and Humanist Society and in Stoke – a place where Muslim students have been harassed by the BNP – an ex-soldier, Simon Beech, was recently convicted of setting fire to a mosque.
