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Tag: Jews

  • ‘Love Heals.’ Jewish Families Heartbroken Over Cemetery Vandalism Find Comfort In Muslim Supporters

    ‘Love Heals.’ Jewish Families Heartbroken Over Cemetery Vandalism Find Comfort In Muslim Supporters

    A Muslim-American group in the U.S. helped raise more than $77,000 in a single day to help a historic Jewish cemetery in Missouri repair hundreds of gravesites desecrated in what is being condemned as an apparent act of anti-Semitism.

    The overwhelming support has brought some comfort to those whose relatives are buried at the Chesed Shel Emeth Society cemetery in St. Louis, where more than 150 tombstones were toppled and damaged this week.

    “To me, that outpouring is love,” said Barbara Perle, whose grandparents and great-grandparents are among her relatives buried at the site. “In my heart, love heals.”

    Perle, 66, who now lives in California, said she “felt heartbroken” when she learned of the vandalism in her hometown. She said she has not been able to find out whether her relatives’ sites were disturbed because the cemetery’s phone line has been inundated with calls.

    Regardless, she said such a hateful act still directly affects her. “This desecration is a devastating thing to happen to anybody’s family,” she told TIME on Wednesday. “It was particularly devastating for me personally. These are beloved family members.”

    Perle and others who have loved ones buried at the cemetery say they’re deeply touched by the online fundraiser, organized by two Muslim-Americans, which has been collecting an average of $1,000 every 20 minutes.

    The donation page was started by Muslim advocate Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi, who also founded CelebrateMercy, a nonprofit that teaches about Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam.

    “We just want to send a message that whatever haters and extremists try to destroy, we will rebuild,” El-Messidi, 36, told TIME. “Seeing this happen was just disgusting. It shows that when you put all the politics aside, we share humanity together. We want everyone to live in peace and we want everyone to rest in peace.”

    Andy Ulrich, whose grandparents are also buried at the cemetery, called the vandalism a “day of darkness” and said the collaboration between Jews and Muslims, who are often presented in opposition, sheds light on a message of unity.

    “I always say it takes something horrible to bring out the best in Americans,” he said. “I think that there’s more similarity in people than differences.”

    Source: Time

  • Benjamin Netanyahu Slams John Kerry’s Speech, Thanks Donald Trump For Friendship

    Benjamin Netanyahu Slams John Kerry’s Speech, Thanks Donald Trump For Friendship

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took parting swipes Wednesday at the Obama administration, calling John Kerry’s earlier speech “unbalanced” but saying he had “no doubt” the alliance between the countries would endure despite disagreements.

    Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry defended the Obama administration’s decision to abstain from voting on a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in areas Palestinians seek for a state. Allowing it to pass was seen by some as a slap to Israel. He questioned Netanyahu’s commitment to Palestinian statehood, which has been the basis for serious peace talks.

    “If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, it cannot be both, and it won’t ever really be at peace,” Kerry said.

    Kerry’s speech came amid the final days of an administration that has had tense relations with Israel. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repair the relationship. Trump has condemned Obama for allowing the resolution to pass and said Wednesday that the current president has put up “roadblocks” for Trump’s transition.

    Trump’s comments on U.S.-Israeli relations clash with past precedent in which presidents-elect did not comment on foreign policy until they took office.

    Netanyahu on Wednesday thanked Trump on Twitter for his “warm friendship” and “clear-cut support for Israel” after the president-elect tweeted that Israel should “stay strong” as his administration approaches.

    Netanyahu said Kerry’s speech was “almost as unbalanced” as the U.N. resolution, which he harshly criticized. He said that peace will not be achieved through speeches or U.N. resolutions but through direct talks.

    “Israel remains committed to resolving the outstanding difference between us and the Palestinians with direct negotiations,” Netanyahu said.

    He also contended that Kerry spent “most of his speech blaming Israel for the lack of peace.”

    In his speech, Kerry stressed that Obama’s commitment to Israel has been as strong as previous presidents, giving assurances that the Obama administration is not planning any other parting shots at Israel and saying it would not recognize Palestinian statehood. He did not focus only on Israel’s failings in the peace process, criticizing Palestinian leaders’ “incitement” of violence.

    Obama has expressed frustration about the growth of Israeli settlements, and Israel’s government has argued that curbing them should not be a precondition to peace talks.

     

    Source: www.cnbc.com

  • Benjamin Netanyahu ‘Told New Zealand Backing UN Vote Would Be Declaration Of War’

    Benjamin Netanyahu ‘Told New Zealand Backing UN Vote Would Be Declaration Of War’

    Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told New Zealand’s foreign minister that support for a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories would be viewed as a “declaration of war”.

    According to reports in Israeli media, the Israeli PM called Murray McCully, the foreign minister of New Zealand, before Friday’s resolution, which was co-sponsored by Wellington. Netanyahu told him: “This is a scandalous decision. I’m asking that you not support it and not promote it.

    “If you continue to promote this resolution, from our point of view it will be a declaration of war. It will rupture the relations and there will be consequences. We’ll recall our ambassador [from New Zealand] to Jerusalem.”

    McCully, however, refused to back down, telling Netanyahu: “This resolution conforms to our policy and we will move it forward.”

    A western diplomat confirmed that the call took place and described the conversation as “harsh”.

    The details of the call – disclosed in Haaretz – suggest a mounting sense of panic on the part of Netanyahu in the run-up to the UN security council resolution that passed on Friday demanding an end to settlement building.

    As well as the Netanyahu call, a senior official in Israel’s foreign ministry called New Zealand’s ambassador to Israel, Jonathan Curr, and warned that if the resolution came to a vote, Israel might close its embassy in Wellington in protest.

    Israel responded furiously to the vote, threatening diplomatic reprisals against the countries that voted in favour. Diplomatic ties with New Zealand were temporarily severed and ambassador Itzhak Gerberg was recalled.

    But in a sign that the international pressure may be being felt by the Netanyahu administration, scheduled plans to consider for approval 600 new settlement houses in occupied east Jerusalem were abruptly removed from the agenda of the city’s municipality on Wednesday.

    Netanyahu’s language and behaviour – which has resulted in ambassadors being reprimanded and consultations with foreign leaders, including the UK’s Theresa May, cancelled – has raised eyebrows among foreign diplomats, who point out that the UN resolution does no more than confirm the longstanding view of the international community on Jewish settlements.

    Later on Wednesday the US secretary of state, John Kerry, will make a speech outlining the parameters for how the Obama administration sees a settlement of the Middle East peace process.

    Kerry’s speech, less than a month before Barack Obama leaves office, is expected to be the current administration’s last word on a decades-old dispute that Kerry had hoped to resolve during his four years as America’s top diplomat.

    It could also be seen in Israel as another parting shot at Netanyahu, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Obama since they both took office in 2009. Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, told Israel Army Radio that the planned speech was a “pathetic move” and “anti-democratic”.

    The US on Friday broke with a longstanding approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and abstained on a United Nations security council resolution that passed with 14 countries in favour and none against.

    An Egyptian paper supportive of the country’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, reported what it said was a leaked memo allegedly confirming Israel’s allegations that the Obama administration and Palestinian officials had coordinated positions over the wording of the resolution to allow the US to abstain in the vote. The state department denied the report.

     

    Source: www.theguardian.com

  • Muslims And The Birth Of Jesus Christ

    Muslims And The Birth Of Jesus Christ

    When the Prophet Muhammad migrated to Madina he was surprised to find the Jewish community fasting on a day known as ‘Ashura’, which fell in the Arabic (later Islamic) month of Muharram. During his life in Makkah, the Prophet used to observe a fast on this day. When he asked them why they fast on this day, the Jewish community replied that it was in celebration of Moses’ deliverance from Pharoah. The Prophet told his community that they too were believers in Moses and were deserving of commemorating the momentous occasion of his deliverance. Without questioning the authenticity of the date, despite the Hebrew calendar being different to the Arabic, the Prophet accepted their reason and instructed his community to observe the fast too. Acknowledging a sacred event is not related to the time of its happening as much as it is related to its meaning, which is to celebrate it in joy of God’s favours and love for the righteous.

    Maintaining a connectedness to religious occasions that are intimiately tied to sacred symbols is common in Islam and deeply connected to faith. Hajj, the annual pilgrimage, is the fifth pillar of Islam and replete with these meanings. For example, the circumambulation of a House built by Ibrahim and his son Ismail; the walking between Safa and Marwa where Hajar went on her search for water for her infant child; the throwing of stones in Mina where the devil tried to tempt Ibrahim away from sacrificing his son; and the ritual slaughter that marks the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son for God. This is the greatness of religious rituals; that they are forms imbued with profound meanings and not simply actions which are meant to be ritually repeated.

    The Quran tell us: “And remind them of the days of God; indeed, in them are signs for those who are forbearing and grateful.” As we approach the occasion of Jesus Christ’s birth, we feel that we are confronted with a day from among the ‘days of God’. This day was distinguished by an immense miracle related to his birth. This birth was connected to meanings of peace that we are in dire need of today.

    Yes, God made Jesus Christ a symbol of peace for this world.

    Did the Quran not inform us of Christ’s words, “Peace was upon me the day I was born, and will be on me the day I shall die, and the day I am raised to life again.”? These words alone are sufficient enough as a reason for our joy on this noble occasion, irrespective of its exact date and the differing opinions that exist among Christian denominations. The birth of Jesus Christ is less about the precise date and more about the meaning embodied in his emergence into this world.

    I offer my greetings to the Prophet Muhammad on the birth of Jesus Christ, who affectionaly described the son of Mary as his brother and said of him, “I have the best right to Jesus son of Mary in this world and the next.”

    Likewise, I offer my greetings to Muslims, Christians and humanity at large on this blessed occassion.

    And I say to Jesus Christ: my master, the spirit of God and His word, peace be upon you the day you were born, the day you shall die and the day you will be raised to life again.

     

    Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

  • Morocco: Jews, Christians, And Muslims Help The Poor In Ramadan

    Morocco: Jews, Christians, And Muslims Help The Poor In Ramadan

    In what sounds like a page ripped out of novel, several dozen Muslim activists, a group of Jewish teens and a rabbi joined forces on Sunday in a number of Moroccan cities to supply 1,500 underprivileged Muslim families with food staples for the daily meal that marks the end of each daily fast during Ramadan.

    The food packages were a three-way partnership organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, founded and directed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein; Chabad-Lubavitch of Morocco; and the Mimouna Association, an organization of Moroccan Muslim students who work to preserve and promote the unique heritage of Morocco’s ancient Jewish community.

    “We are privileged to help support Moroccans in need celebrate the holy month of Ramadan,” said Eckstein. “This inspiring joint initiative serves as a shining model of bridge-building between Christians, Jews and Muslims, and shows that the world’s faith communities can unite around shared values to make a difference for good.”

    Rabbi Levi Banon of Jeunesse ChabadMorocco led a group of teens from the local Chabad and volunteers from Mimouna to the poorest areas in the cities of Kenitra, Rabat and Sale to distribute the food.

    “This is a beautiful display of how people from different faiths can get together to do something positive,” said Laziza Dalil, a member of Mimouna. “We are now two weeks into Ramadan, and some of these families may not have the most basic supplies with which to break the fast.”

    Each box contains dates, tea, lentils, chickpeas and other food staples with which Muslims traditionally break their Ramadan fasts each evening.

    This year’s distribution follows the successful pilot program last year, in which 250 packages were delivered. According to Dalil, some of the recipients were taken aback to discover that the gift was brought to them by people outside of the Muslim faith, but “they really did not care. They were touched by the human gesture of caring, and the fact that people thought about them and their families.”

    “It was such a wonderful gesture that really brought out the best in people,” noted Banon. “It is touching to see that charity that has been done in other parts of the world though the IFCJ is now being felt in the Muslim world, especially beginning in Morocco, a country of tolerance and peace.”

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    Source: Muslimvillage.com