5 Towns Jewish Times
July 7, 2020
NEW YORK – Following the tragic death of George Floyd and protests taking place around the country, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) President Rabbi Marc Schneier has launched a historic series with five of the top U.S. civil rights leaders focusing on the role of the Jewish community in combating racial injustice and racial inequality.
Rabbi Schneier sits down with Rev. Al Sharpton on July 7, Marc Morial on July 8, Rev. Jesse Jackson on July 9 and Charles Steele Jr. on July 10. All interviews will air at 9 a.m. ET and will be available at https://www.youtube.com/user/EthnicUnderstanding/videos.
Rabbi Schneier sits down in one-on-one interviews with National Action Network Founder and President Rev. Al Sharpton, Rainbow PUSH Coalition Founder and President Rev. Jesse Jackson, Southern Christian Leadership Conference President and CEO Charles Steele Jr., National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
The discussions center on how the Black community would like the Jewish community to further demonstrate its support and how interfaith leaders can advance civil rights as a means of inspiring needed change and healing today. Additionally, they will speak about how COVID-19 took a disproportional toll on Black and Brown communities and what steps are needed to protect the health of Black and Brown communities. Lastly, as antisemitism continues to rise in 2020 and some of the recent protests and riots took an ugly turn with synagogues and Jewish shops in Los Angeles being targeted and defaced, these civil rights leaders will offer words of solidarity to the Jewish community in light of these recent incidents.
“At this critical time in America as we address shortcomings in social justice, I am grateful to these African American leaders to sit with me in a candid discussion of how the Jewish community can respond and help,” said FFEU President Rabbi Marc Schneier. “I have been working with many of them for decades, yet the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death reminds us of how much more needs to be done.”
“No segment of American society provided as much and as consistent support to African Americans during the struggle for civil rights as did the Jewish community. Today, that struggle continues, and we must continue on our solidarity march together with our Black brothers and sisters,” added Rabbi Schneier.
Founded in 1989, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding is the global address for Muslim-Jewish relations and the national address for African American-Jewish relations. The organization is committed to the belief that direct dialogue between ethnic communities is the most effective path towards reconciliation. For more information, visit https://ffeu.org/.