NEW YORK (AP) — Both sat on either end of the congressmen’s couch, a Jewish healthcare executive whose parent had luckily fled Germany in 1936. The other Muslim Kashmiri chairperson of a famous furniture chain. Stanley Bergman and Farooq Kathwari, the two men came together to attract masses due to spark of hate crimes. Both are hopeful that their joint appearance would send a big message quite loudly that U.S. Jews and Muslims could forget their differences to work together.
“What drove us was the growing prejudice that has emerged in the United States. What starts small, from a historical point of view, often grows into something big.” Bergman said.
The men lead the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, that was founded last year by the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America, amid the possible alliances between the members of the both faiths.
Since the presidential elections both communities feel harassed and bigoted. The Jews have taken positive steps by helping repair of mosques through donations and Muslims raised money get remodeled vandalized Jewish cemeteries. The Rabbis and imams marched against Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
“I would never have thought I would see some people in conversation, or anywhere near each other. Then I saw people on Facebook standing next to each other at protests — Muslims and Jews,” said Aziza Hasan, executive director of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for drastic Changes in Los Angeles, which has been running a community relationship-building programs for more than a decade.
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