Category: Inter-faith

9/11 Walks | A Simple Act of Hope and Courage. Honor the countless victims of 9/11 and its aftermath with a simple act of hope and courage: Walk and talk kindly with neighbors and strangers, in celebration of our common humanity and in defiance of fear, misunderstanding and hatred.  Wouldn’t it be great if 9/11 became a day to reach over boundaries to connect with ‘the other’, the way Martin Luther King Day has become a day for community service?  It only takes a few people from one group or congregation to join a few from another to create a…

David Campbell and Robert Putnam: Islam and American Tolerance – WSJ.com. Consider the experience of two groups that are perceived positively by Americans today: Jews and Catholics. Americans rate Jews and Catholics more warmly than they do mainline Protestants, historically America’s religious establishment, and evangelical Protestants, the single largest religious group in the country. At the end of the scale opposite Jews and Catholics are Muslims, Mormons and Buddhists.

The 9/11 Unity Walk invites you to commemorate the 10 years since the acts of terror on September 11, 2001 by building bridges of respect and understanding. IMAGINE the sound of the Muslim call to prayer at Washington’s largest synagogue. Imagine Jewish cantors and “Amazing Grace” sung over the mosque loudspeakers.LEARN about different faiths at open houses for churches, synagogues, temples, gurdwaras and mosques. BE MOVED BY speakers with names like Tutu and Gandhi, enjoy diverse cuisines, and participate in a service project hosted by Unity Walk‘s Interfaith Youth Action Group (IYAG). Desmond Tutu, on the Unity Walk: “It touches…

Michelle Goldberg Explains Why Jews “Recoil from the GOP” | NJDC Blog. Newsweek’s Michelle Goldberg published an article today in Tablet detailing why today’s Republican Party repels a majority of American Jews. In the article, Goldberg explained that the Republican Party’s coziness with radical Christian factions makes Jews uneasy. She criticized Republican claims that Jews are leaving the Democratic Party as one of the “perennial canards of American political commentary.” Using historical facts about Jewish voting patterns, she emphasized that the majority of Jewish voters are unlikely to vote Republican because many in the GOP define America as a Christian…

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster: Stories of Loss and Chaos: The Ninth of Av and the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. Stories change with every retelling — sometimes the details and sometimes the meaning. The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks will be here soon, and then the stories will begin again.

NYC.gov. “There is no single reason why New York is the greatest city on earth, but chief among them is that the world’s hardest-working people come to achieve a better life for their families and simultaneously enrich and are enriched by their neighbors once here. The start of Ramadan marks the beginning of a time of fasting, prayer and reflection for New Yorkers in all Five Boroughs, and I want to extend my best wishes for this holiest month on the Muslim calendar. Ramadan Mubarak.”

The Jewish Theological Seminary – Our Better Angels: Resources for the Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. Our Better Angels: Resources for the Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 Texts, Talks, Music from the three-part series exploring Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions on Tragedy, Mourning, and Healing.

Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of 9/11: Reflections and Resources from RHR-NA | Rabbis for Human Rights – North America. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington, DC. It often seems hard to believe that it has been that long. So much has changed, and yet for many, the reminders of that day are ever present.  We must remember those who died, pray for peace and healing, and reflect on the challenges that have arisen over the past ten years: American use of torture, two wars, and rising anti-Muslim sentiment. There is…