In the News

CNN By Ben Brumfield and Josh Levs Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the Holocaust the most heinous crime in modern human history, his office said in a statement Sunday. He called the Holocaust an embodiment of racism, in response to a question by Rabbi Marc Schneier on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the statement from the Palestine Liberation Organization said. He said Palestinians reject racism and ethnic discrimination, and he called on the world to fight it. “The...

CBS News RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday called the Holocaust “the most heinous crime” of modern history and expressed his sympathy for the victims, a rare acknowledgment by an Arab leader of Jewish suffering during the Nazi genocide. Abbas’ comments appeared, in part, aimed at reaching out to Israeli public opinion at a time of deep crisis in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. The remarks were published by the Palestinian official news...

The New York Times By Jodi Rudoren JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority issued a formal statement on Sunday calling the Holocaust “the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era” and expressing sympathy with victims’ families. The statement, which grew out of a meeting a week ago between Mr. Abbas and an American rabbi who promotes understanding between Muslims and Jews, is the first such offering of condolences by the Palestinian leader. Mr....

The Jerusalem Post By Sam Sokol Palestinian leader tells New York rabbi he will speak out against European ritual slaughter bans. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Holocaust the “single greatest tragedy in modern-day history” during a meeting with a visiting American rabbi in Ramallah on Sunday. According to Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a Jewish-Muslim interfaith group, Abbas agreed to make a public declaration on behalf of Holocaust-remembrance efforts...

Haaretz By Barak Ravid Palestinian leader to publish statement on Holocaust Memorial Day, says former World Jewish Congress vice president. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to publish a special Holocaust Memorial Day message to the Jewish people next week, Haaretz has learned. If the message is indeed published it will be the first of its kind ever issued by the Palestinian leadership. Haaretz learned of the message from Rabbi Marc Schneier, former vice-president of the World Jewish...

Reuters By Jeffery Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Nazi Holocaust “the most heinous crime” against humanity in modern times, in an apparent bid to build bridges with Israel days after troubled peace talks collapsed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the overture on Sunday, saying Abbas’s Palestinian power-sharing deal with Hamas, which led Israel to suspend the negotiations on Thursday, put him in partnership with an Islamist group that...

The Jewish Exponent An Orthodox rabbi and Muslim cleric spoke about their joint mission to fight oppression affecting their religious groups at a South Jersey synagogue. They may seem like an odd couple, but Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali believe there is nothing more natural than two people who have come to understand each other using what they have learned to promote harmony between their people. The Orthodox rabbi and Muslim cleric are on a mission to bring followers of Judaism and Islam...

The Jewish Voice By David Portnoe When Imam Shamsi Ali, a Muslim cleric from Indonesia, came to the United States in 1995, he had a host of biases and misconceptions about those he described as “the other,” non-Muslims. Those views began to change when he moved to Astoria in Queens, and his family befriended an Irish Catholic. Ali’s biases toward Jews remained, however, until he met Rabbi Marc Schneier, an Orthodox rabbi and a cofounder with Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons of the Foundation for Ethnic...

New Jersey Jewish Standard By Larry Yudelson A rabbi and an imam walk into the Frisch School together… Jewish-Muslim dialogue went to a yeshiva high school, as Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali appeared at an assembly at the Frisch School in Paramus last Wednesday. It was the first time Frisch hosted a Muslim speaker – and the first time the duo, who have written a book together, brought their Muslim-Jewish dialogue to an American Jewish school. Rabbi Schneier is the founding rabbi of the...

Asian Image A delegation of Muslim and Jewish leaders have called for a ban on Halal and Kosher meat to be reversed in Denmark. The group visited the country recently and met with the minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dan Jorgensen at his office in Copenhagen. The group, organized by Samia Hathroubi, co-ordinator of the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), was formed to respond to growing Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Europe. The delegation urged that the ban be rescinded as...