In the News

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier Hanukkah, the eight day holiday which the Jewish people just observed, is first and foremost, about miracles. Hanukkah commemorates both the miracle of the victory of the Jewish people led by Judah Maccabee in their uprising against their Greek oppressors in 165 B.C.E. and the miracle that the menorah in the reconsecrated Temple in Jerusalem burned for eight days, even though there was only enough oil to light it for one day. To be sure, miracles have always...

The Times of Israel By Rabbi Marc Schneier Miracles have always played a major role in Jewish history; indeed, the very survival of the Jews as a people, despite nearly 2000 years of exile and persecution, is the greatest miracle of all. Yet in the Talmud, our sages remind us that one must not rely on miracles. Yes, miracles can happen, but one has to work terribly hard to make them possible. Over the past six years, I have been privileged to take part in a modern-day miracle; the establishment of...

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier The juxtaposition of events was at once startling and profoundly reassuring. Last week in Vienna, only a few days after a cease-fire put an end to the recent exchange of missile fire between Israel and Gaza, I had the privilege of attending the opening of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna. The often inspirational event held at the ornate Hofburg Palace was attended by U.N. Secretary General...

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali In the run up to Thanksgiving, hundreds of Muslims and Jews have joined together in cities across North America to serve nourishing meals to hungry and homeless people. In the process, they are also manifesting that even on occasions like the present moment, when violence erupts in the Middle East, Muslims and Jews living side by side in North America, Europe and around the world are determined to connect with each other to build grass roots...

The Times of Israel By Rabbi Marc Schneier Next week, on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish community will gather together to read the Torah portion detailing one of the earliest and most troubling family rivalries in human history – but one whose resolution can provide us all with a measure of hope for a better tomorrow. The Torah reading tells the story of the forced exodus of Hagar and her son Ishmael from the home of Abraham due to a bitter feud with Sarah. Sent into the wilderness, the resentment and...

FFEU's Weekend of Twinning set to take place at 250 Jewish and Muslim institutions in 26 countries at some 125 meetings.