This shouldn’t go unmentioned:
Thousands of Muslims and Jews across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa participated last weekend in The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding’s (FFEU) 4th annual Weekend of Twinning.
Since 2008, FFEU has organized hundreds of similar initiatives around the world in cooperation with the World Jewish Congress and the Islamic Society of North America.
The annual Weekend of Twinning brings together hundreds of synagogues and mosques, cultural centers, Muslim and Jewish university students and young leadership groups and Muslim and Jewish social action networks.
These gatherings have helped Muslims and Jews in North America, Europe and around the world to nurture ties of friendship and trust.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, FFEU President, remarked, “FFEU is proud to showcase these unprecedented international gatherings of Jews and Muslims. The sheer magnitude of this year’s Weekend of Twinning reinforces our efforts to build a global movement of Muslims and Jews committed to communication, reconciliation, cooperation and understanding.”
Participating Muslim and Jewish organizations held their events over the weekend of November 18-20. Some events will continue through the end of December. Social action initiatives include Muslims and Jews feeding the hungry and the homeless in Boston, New Jersey, Toronto and Washington, DC.
Given all the widely-publicized hatred and mistrust, you might think such events were impossible. That they happen even on a relatively small scale is reason for hope.