Now that the hostage situation has ended, JIDS expresses its relief and gratitude that no innocent person was harmed at Congregation Beth Israel of Colleyville, TX. May innocents continue to be sheltered beneath Shekhinah’s wings/the loving embrace of Allah.
JIDS holds in prayers all of those whose trauma response was evoked by this news, whether in Pittsburgh, Escondido, Poway, Dar Al-Farooq, and, sadly, in so many other places as well. May we be grounded and may we find comfort in caring for ourselves, and each other.
May solidarity and compassion prevail and may we not let fear make way for Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and hate.
As we observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we are reminded that while we have achieved a great deal, much remains to be done. The event at Congregation Beth Israel illustrates what we already knew — that plenty of Jews and Muslims do consider each other to be “the enemy” — and eradicating that attitude root and branch is one of the reasons we exist as an organization. We cannot let hate divide us or deter us in our mission to support each other as the cousins we are as we continue to remove barriers to full human potential. Only when we see each other as one of the faces of the One will we be able to truly fulfill the vision of those whose wisdom has sustained us over the centuries. We cannot allow the forces of hate to distract us from our commitment to each other.
As we make our way into this week ahead, we pray, as ever, for peace. And we pray for the strength, vulnerability, connection and yearning to fuel our loving action as partners in its creation. May solidarity and compassion prevail and may we not let fear make way for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or any other form of hate.
(Adapted in part from a statement written by Keshira HaLev Fife)
“God in Our Hearts and in Our Actions: A Dialogue and an Iftar”Sunday, April 16th, beginning at 6:30 pm ET (at a restaurant in Vienna, VA)Whether our God goes by the name of Allah, Adonai or Hashem, the acts of loving and contemplating God can completely transform our lives. At this event, JIDS will explore the different ways in which our feelings and thoughts about God affect who we and what we can accomplish in this world. Our panelists will be Rizwan Jaka, Haytham Younis and Daniel Spiro. Please RSVP for this session to jids.washington@gmail.com. If there is still space available, we will provide you the name/address of the venue. |
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