On Dec. 7, the date which President Franklin D. Roosevelt asserted would “live in infamy,” a certain political candidate stood at Pearl Harbor in 2016 and advocated to ban Muslims entering our country. Not refugees. Not Syrians. Muslims as a whole. This, coupled with the Syrian refugee crisis, stirred up some of the ugliest Islamophobia I’ve seen since Sept. 11, 2001.
My heart hurts for the abundance of fear, ignorance and hate that some people perpetuate. Having experienced the scars of Poland and having seen the terror of Auschwitz with my own eyes just a month prior, I was acutely aware of the impact of fear, hate and ignorance left unchecked and allowed to thrive. When we say “never again” we mean never again for anyone. Never again will we stand by while those with political power espouse their hatred. (Remember, Hitler never kept his true feelings and plans for Jews a secret.)
Never again will we allow neighbors to turn against neighbors out of fear and ignorance.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, remarked that the “remedy for ignorance is asking questions.” Such a Jewish solution!
I reached out to Huda Alkaff and the Wisconsin Green Muslims. She and her organization were honored last summer by the White House for grassroots efforts to educate on climate change. With Tu B’Shevat approaching, and because the environment is already a mutual concern shared by Jews and Muslims (and others, of course), doing a joint seder seemed to be a wonderful opportunity to learn about and glean wisdom from the other’s traditions. And a seder is an excellent time for questions! It was also an opportunity for Congregation Shir Hadash to show solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters, in action and not just in words, at a time when the atmosphere was so aggressive.
By studying texts from the Torah, Qur’an, Midrash and Hadith and by asking questions such as, “Is the demoralization of our world related to our disregard for the Earth?” and, “What are your fears for the next generation?” we were able to have conversations that highlighted our similarities as people of faith, united for a common goal. We also had Christian and Sikh participants who brought their faith traditions to the table and made the experience that much richer.
At this time, we need to reach out to vulnerable groups in our society. We need to model overcoming ignorance and fear in favor of understanding and relationship. A number of organizations in Milwaukee are already doing so. Huda and I learned so much from working with each other. We learned and modeled how Jews and Muslims can stand together for an issue irrespective of the many issues that may divide us. When we ask questions and genuinely seek understanding, we build strong relationships that lead to trust, and trust is necessary when we need to have difficult conversations inevitably in the future. Yet standing on a firm foundation of trust and relationship will make those conversations that much less difficult.
Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum is the spiritual leader for Congregation Shir Hadash, 2717 E. Hampshire St., Milwaukee.
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