Sing4Him
November 19th, 2008, 04:20 PM
Twinning’ events join synagogues with mosques
http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/112008/njTwinningEventsJoin.html
Ethnic foundation promotes activities to confront bigotry
by Johanna Ginsberg
NewJersey-JN Staff Writer
November 20, 2008
When Rabbi Donald Rossoff of Temple B’nai Or in Morristown was asked if he would consider twinning his synagogue with a nearby mosque for a national weekend of Jewish-Islamic interfaith outreach, he said, “It was pretty much a no-brainer.”:shocked
B’nai Or is one of several NJ synagogues participating in the Nov. 21-23 project spearheaded by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
According to the foundation, 50 mosques and 50 synagogues around the country will hold joint activities to “confront Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in their communities.”
The weekend is the direct result of a summit meeting of 12 rabbis and 12 imams held in November 2007. The event is timed to coincide with a visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations.
B’nai Or already has a longstanding relationship with the Jam-e-Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton that dates to before 9/11, and Rossoff had before spoken on the topic of Islamophobia.
For his Reform synagogue, the twinning represents “a widening of our relationship.”
But on the national stage, he said, “it’s going to be a really important weekend. Pretty soon, there will be more Muslims than Jews in this country. If we want to have bridges to cross in times of difficulty, we have to build bridges first. Getting to know each other and trust each other,” he said, marks a first step.
Temple members have been invited to an ethnic dinner at Jam-e-Masjid, to be followed by structured programming designed to discuss stereotypes and prejudices in both communities.
Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills is also participating in the twinning weekend.
On Friday, Nov. 21, the temple’s Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz will speak at Masjid Waarith-ud-Deen, a mosque in Irvington. Plans had already been set for Imam Nahy ud-Deen Shareef to speak at B’nai Jeshurun’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration, on Friday evening, Jan. 16, which will serve as a follow-up for the twinning activities.
The exchanges will expand a developing relationship between Gewirtz and Deen to their entire communities.
“In this day and age, how could you not be in?” said Gewirtz. “The only opportunity to finally stop seeing the stereotypes we imagine is to meet real people with real experiences living real lives. It’s our only shot at understanding.”
A ‘Kumbaya’ moment?
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, established in 1989 by Rabbi Marc Schneier and the late Joseph Papp, began focusing on Muslim-Jewish relations in 2005. The weekend of twinning marks its first major grassroots initiative in the area.
“One of the greatest challenges in inter-religious dialogue is the chasm between Muslims and Jews,” said foundation president Schneier in a telephone interview. “I believe if we can create a paradigm and develop a paradigm in this country and across North America, we can export this model to other countries around the world.”
Advertisements leading up to the weekend and to King Abdullah’s visit have run in The New York Times and on CNN.
“We need to focus on issues that transcend politics .........
http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/112008/njTwinningEventsJoin.html
Ethnic foundation promotes activities to confront bigotry
by Johanna Ginsberg
NewJersey-JN Staff Writer
November 20, 2008
When Rabbi Donald Rossoff of Temple B’nai Or in Morristown was asked if he would consider twinning his synagogue with a nearby mosque for a national weekend of Jewish-Islamic interfaith outreach, he said, “It was pretty much a no-brainer.”:shocked
B’nai Or is one of several NJ synagogues participating in the Nov. 21-23 project spearheaded by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
According to the foundation, 50 mosques and 50 synagogues around the country will hold joint activities to “confront Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in their communities.”
The weekend is the direct result of a summit meeting of 12 rabbis and 12 imams held in November 2007. The event is timed to coincide with a visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations.
B’nai Or already has a longstanding relationship with the Jam-e-Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton that dates to before 9/11, and Rossoff had before spoken on the topic of Islamophobia.
For his Reform synagogue, the twinning represents “a widening of our relationship.”
But on the national stage, he said, “it’s going to be a really important weekend. Pretty soon, there will be more Muslims than Jews in this country. If we want to have bridges to cross in times of difficulty, we have to build bridges first. Getting to know each other and trust each other,” he said, marks a first step.
Temple members have been invited to an ethnic dinner at Jam-e-Masjid, to be followed by structured programming designed to discuss stereotypes and prejudices in both communities.
Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills is also participating in the twinning weekend.
On Friday, Nov. 21, the temple’s Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz will speak at Masjid Waarith-ud-Deen, a mosque in Irvington. Plans had already been set for Imam Nahy ud-Deen Shareef to speak at B’nai Jeshurun’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration, on Friday evening, Jan. 16, which will serve as a follow-up for the twinning activities.
The exchanges will expand a developing relationship between Gewirtz and Deen to their entire communities.
“In this day and age, how could you not be in?” said Gewirtz. “The only opportunity to finally stop seeing the stereotypes we imagine is to meet real people with real experiences living real lives. It’s our only shot at understanding.”
A ‘Kumbaya’ moment?
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, established in 1989 by Rabbi Marc Schneier and the late Joseph Papp, began focusing on Muslim-Jewish relations in 2005. The weekend of twinning marks its first major grassroots initiative in the area.
“One of the greatest challenges in inter-religious dialogue is the chasm between Muslims and Jews,” said foundation president Schneier in a telephone interview. “I believe if we can create a paradigm and develop a paradigm in this country and across North America, we can export this model to other countries around the world.”
Advertisements leading up to the weekend and to King Abdullah’s visit have run in The New York Times and on CNN.
“We need to focus on issues that transcend politics .........