A U.S. Casualty from Gaza? Interfaith Dialogue
Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper reports on the challenges the conflict in Gaza has created for Muslim-Jewish dialogue in the United States.
Sarah Sayeed, a program associate at New York’s Interfaith Center, said there have been almost no interfaith statements on Gaza.
“The inability of interfaith leaders to speak in one voice on the situation … is deeply and morally troubling,” she said. “Religious leaders speaking together here could make a huge difference.”
I have seen, however, on listservs and blogs that there is a robust dialogue among Jews and Muslims, however it has not led to much in terms of broader public statements. Have the extremists on all sides managed to silence the middle? I fear they have, temorarily, but efforts like The Muslim Jewish Peace Walk will continue, and hopefully, these small scale events can create a groundswell of support, which will lead American religious institutions to come together. Strong constituencies trying to assert their own side’s unique vulnerability, however, do stand in the way. Until we can affirm the suffering of the other, and have that affirmation reciprocated, I do fear unity is far off. The amazing organization, Encounter, which puts Jewish leaders and thinkers in contact with Palestinians in a process of education and dialogue, is an essential step in the right direction. The Rabbis who founded it are truly an example of the best religious leaders have to offer in times of religous and sectarian violence.
