Comment: More than ever, U.S. Jews, Muslims must stand united
By Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby / The Baltimore Sun
Two years ago, the two of us, a Muslim-American woman, and a Jewish-American man, wrote a book together, arguing that American Muslims and Jews cannot afford to allow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to divide our faith communities here at home.
We believe in that principle today as much as we did then; but as we watch with horror the ever-escalating war in Gaza and Israel, we are also acutely aware that the conflict poses a growing peril to tear our faith communities here in America irreparably apart.
Indeed, the lines are being drawn. Members of the Jewish community feel that Muslims leaders have not gone far enough to denounce Hamas for its brutal, life-destroying rampage against 1,400 Israeli civilians, the deadliest one-day spasm of anti-Jewish violence since the Holocaust. They also feel threatened by the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents across the U.S. including at pro-Palestinian rallies on college campuses.
At the same time, American Muslims feel dread at the new wave of Islamophobia. Muslims are resentful at being pressured to speak out against Hamas’ actions when they feel that there has been relative silence by many Jews over the oppression Palestinians have endured for decades under Israeli occupation. They see the media as being one-sided, and elected officials downplaying the disproportionate loss of life of 9,800 Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Muslim leaders feel that the prevailing pro-Israel zeitgeist in American society makes it unsafe for them to speak up for Palestinians or risk being labeled antisemites or supporters of terrorism, the move to censure U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., being one example. Meanwhile, Muslim children are facing bullying in schools.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-more-than-ever-u-s-jews-muslims-must-stand-united/
= new reply since forum marked as read
