In the News

HuffPost By Stephanie Marcus February 19, 2017 “All of the diversity we see here today will prevail.” Music mogul Russell Simmons led thousands of New Yorkers in a show of solidarity for Muslim Americans at the “I Am A Muslim Too” rally on Sunday in Times Square. Simmons headlined the event, which was co-organized by the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding and the Nusantara Foundation in response to the increased anxiety over President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting immigration from seven...

Daily Beast Dean Obeidallah February 17, 2017 It’s been so moving to see ‘We’re All Muslims Now’ signs. And we’re going to see tons of them in Times Square this Sunday. Thanks, Donald! Donald Trump has done something truly amazing: He has inspired thousands and thousands of Americans to stand up for Muslims in opposition to his “Muslim ban.” It’s such an astounding development that I’m almost happy Trump won! I’ll be blunt: I never expected to see so many of my fellow Americans take to the streets...

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier February 17, 2017 There are many Muslims we know who have made significant contributions to America. As President Donald Trump signed his executive order two weeks ago ending all resettlement of refugees in U.S. for four months and placing an indefinite freeze on people arriving from seven Muslim majority countries, he claimed these draconian steps are necessary to keep out “radical Islamic terrorists.” The President then declared ominously, “We don’t want them...

In an op-ed for the JTA, FFEU President Rabbi Marc Schneier writes about how as allies of Martin Luther King, Jews must fight for the civil rights of Muslims

In an op-ed for the HuffPost, FFEU President Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali write about how there is cause for hope for American Muslims

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier Tatars children celebrating Eid El Adha in last September with the support of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding Over the course of my more than 25 years as a congregational rabbi, I have taken part in many joyous and memorable simchas (celebrations)—bar and bat-mitzvahs, weddings and holiday celebrations during which members of my synagogue came together to sing, dance and make merry, while committing to one another and to the Jewish people. This year,...

New Jersey Jewish News By Michele Alperin Jewish and Muslim women find common ground at Salaam Shalom conference With its core value of building one-to-one relationships that will change the world, the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom challenged each of the 500 Muslim and Jewish women at its 2016 national conference at Drew University in Madison to personally assume responsibility for building a different future. Inspirational talks from interfaith and social activists; smaller workshops focusing on skill-building,...

Jewish Telegraphic Agency By Ron Kampeas Washington – A year ago, when several dozen Washington-area Jewish and Muslim religious and lay leaders jostled for spots in a group picture, the mood was convivial. The most novel item on the agenda for that November 2015 confab was bringing in non-Middle Eastern Muslims into the Jewish-Muslim dialogue. The meeting and the venue — an Indonesian-American Muslim center in Silver Spring, Maryland — helped “dispel the myth that Muslims are inherently of Middle...

The New York Times By Laurie Goodstein NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Jolted into action by a wave of hate crimes that followed the election victory of Donald J. Trump, American Muslims and Jews are banding together in a surprising new alliance. They are putting aside for now their divisions over Israel to join forces to resist whatever may come next. New groups are forming, and interfaith coalitions that already existed say interest is increasing. Vaseem Firdaus, a Muslim who has lived in the United States...

The Jewish Week By Stewert Ain Schumer’s pick for top DNC post defends his Israel record in Jewish Week interview. Keith Ellison, the Minnesota congressman seeking to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is pushing back against critics who claim he has ties to radical anti-Israel and anti-Semitic groups. “I have always been a fierce fighter against anti-Semitism,” he told The Jewish Week in an exclusive interview. “I oppose it and always have.” Similarly, he said, he has supported...