Jews and Muslims Worldwide Attending The Event “Mission of Muslim Leaders and Jewish Leaders from Southern Hemisphere Countries“ in Washington D.C.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE MUSLIMS AND JEWS FORGING ’COMMON FUTURE’ IN WASHINGTON, DC THIS WEEK

With the U.S. State Department’s eye-opening Report on Religious Freedom showing that both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are on the rise worldwide, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), is spearheading a Mission to Washington of Muslim and Jewish Leaders from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on June 4-5. The goal of the Mission, which FFEU is co-sponsoring with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the largest Muslim- umbrella organization in North America, is to jump-start dialogue and cooperation between the Muslim and Jewish communities in those countries.  

The Mission will acquaint the visiting leaders with the ‘American model’ for strengthening Muslim-Jewish relations, which FFEU ,a New York-based not-for-profit devoted to strengthening relations between Muslims and Jews,   has pioneered over the past five years. Since 2007, FFEU has helped created a common Muslim-Jewish agenda, focusing on building ties of friendship and trust between American Jews and Muslims on the grass roots and leadership levels; standing together against Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and working together to improve conditions for all people in the diverse communities in which Jews and Muslims  live side by side. In six short years, FFEU has worked to strengthen  relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in 30 countries on six continents.     

The Mission of Muslim and Jewish Leaders from Southern Hemisphere Countries Itinerary

Participants in the Mission will hold meetings with high-level officials at the White House and State Department and meet with Muslim and Jewish Congress people on Capitol Hill. They will visit the U.S. Holocaust Museum and the Washington Islamic Center, and will be hosted at receptions at the Australian and South African Embassies. The Mission participants are being hosted at a Washington Nationals baseball game in the owners’ box at Nationals Stadium by the Lerner family, the owners of the team.  

The Mission of Muslim Leaders and Jewish Leaders from Southern Hemisphere Countries is the third such initiative by FFEU with the support of ISNA, including a Mission of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders in 2009 and a Mission of Latin American Muslim and Jewish Leaders in 2012. Many of the ‘alumni’ of past missions have since initiated joint Muslim-Jewish events in their countries as part of FFEU’s  annual Weekend of  Twinning, an event held each November in which  Every November members of synagogues and mosques and Muslim and Jewish organizations in more than 25 countries around the world hold joint programs dedicated to fostering communication and cooperation.

Contact Information

Will Eastman

FFEU.org

weastman@ffeu.org