‘Twinning’ Project Brings Muslims and Jews Together...
NEW YORK (JTA) — Daisy Khan seemed right at home in the ornately decorated main sanctuary of B’nai Jeshurun, a large and vibrant synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “I want to thank you for inviting us into this sanctuary, which is very much like a mosque,” said Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. She added, “It feels strange to wear shoes in here!” Several dozen women — approximately equal numbers of Muslims and Jews — had come together at the Nov. 14 event to discuss gender issues in their respective faith traditions. From the food on the table — hummus and flatbread — to the integrated small-group dialogues, the evening focused on how...
Jews Help Guard UK Mosques After Attacks...
London, UK – Muslim leaders in an area of north-east London have recruited the help of a police-trained ultra-orthodox Jewish neighbourhood patrol to bolster security following attacks on mosques and threats against Muslim communities in the UK. The initiative, in the Stamford Hill neighbourhood of Hackney, has seen mosques added to a list of local sites watched over by Shomrim, a volunteer organisation that responds to reports of crime, anti-social behaviour and other incidents in the area and calls itself “the eyes and ears of the police”. “We keep an eye on all the mosques. If we see anything suspicious, we’ll take down a car registration number, report it to the police, keep it for intelligence, log the call and...
Muslims and Jews Band to Fight Hunger
On the day after Yom Kippur, an intergenerational group of about 25 people from the Or HaLev havura gathered at the Chester home of David Glassberg and Beth Pletcher. Teens Jason Cohen and Tyler and Jason Volk, all from Randolph, were in the kitchen tossing salad. Nearby, Bernice Billig of Hackettstown, some years their senior, was chopping fruits and vegetables, while in the garage, Roz Steinberg of Byram Township and a group of middle-aged women were preparing sandwiches from whole grain bread, honey, peanut butter, and cinnamon. All worked under the direction of Zamir Hassan, founder of Muslims Against Hunger and the Hunger Van, a kind of mobile soup kitchen. Hassan and his Hunger Van had arrived with all the...
Jewish and Muslim, Bonding Over Dieting...
BROOKLINE, Mass. — Your mother-in-law fixes you a plate of food. Does she determine what you eat, and how much? So went the question, part of a nutrition-themed game inspired by “Family Feud,” during a meeting of a women’s weight-loss group here the other night. Charlotte Badler, 23, lunged forward to answer. “What if you asked if you could wrap up the rest of it for tomorrow?” she offered, and then addressed an imaginary mother-in-law: “Because I would love to take it to lunch at work tomorrow.” “I love it,” cheered her teammate, Adebola Yakubu-Owolewa, 29. The two leaned in for a high-five. Ms. Badler is Jewish; Ms. Yakubu-Owolewa is Muslim. They and eight other women — five Muslims and...
Jewish, Muslim Teens Work Together to Clean San Jose River...
A river clean-up project this weekend in San Jose had a message of peace and tolerance as well. Dozens of Jewish teenagers worked side by side with Muslim teenagers, picking up trash along the Guadalupe River. They were part of a youth inter-faith group organized by the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley and the Muslim Association of America. Organizers said these events teach kids and adults valuable lessons. “Everyone’s introduced themselves to each other and got to meet people they didn’t know and learned more about working together in our community,” volunteer Diane Fisher said. Among the things picked up this weekend along the river were a hockey mask, a full set of golf clubs, and even a...
So, What Did the Muslims Do for the Jews?...
By David J Wasserstein, May 24, 2012 Islam saved Jewry. This is an unpopular, discomforting claim in the modern world. But it is a historical truth. The argument for it is double. First, in 570 CE, when the Prophet Mohammad was born, the Jews and Judaism were on the way to oblivion. And second, the coming of Islam saved them, providing a new context in which they not only survived, but flourished, laying foundations for subsequent Jewish cultural prosperity – also in Christendom – through the medieval period into the modern world. By the fourth century, Christianity had become the dominant religion in the Roman empire. One aspect of this success was opposition to rival faiths, including Judaism, along...
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