Muslims and Jews Are Not Destined to Be Enemies – New York Must Lead the Way

On Jan. 1, as a new year begins and New York swears in a new mayor, Muslim and Jewish New Yorkers, distinguished faith leaders, interfaith organizations and community organizers are holding our own celebratory event called The Unbreakable Bond. This is not a symbolic gesture or a public-relations exercise. It is a moral declaration.

At a moment when hatred and distortion are being normalized and fear amplified, we are stating something simple and urgent: Muslims and Jews refuse to allow antisemitism, extremism, or ideological manipulation to define our future – or our faiths.

Let me speak plainly, because moral clarity requires it. Hatred of Israel fuels hatred of Jews. Hatred of Jews corrodes the ethical foundation of any society. And any ideology that excuses or normalizes antisemitism ultimately betrays Islam itself, whose foundational teachings, not those distorted over centuries by extremists for political gain — demand justice, truthfulness and the protection of innocent life.

This is not rhetoric. It is reality.

Just days ago, I returned from Israel as part of a week-long educational study tour with the OHR Torah Interfaith Center of Israel and the Combat Antisemitism Movement. Alongside Muslim leaders, women of faith and interfaith advocates from across the United States, we traveled not as tourists, but as witnesses.

We met Jewish and Arab citizens living under the same democratic framework. We asked difficult questions — and we listened to answers that do not fit the simplistic narratives often repeated thousands of miles away. More than once, Arab Israelis told us that even if a Palestinian state were created, they would choose to remain Israeli citizens because of the rights, stability and dignity they experience. Acknowledging that truth does not erase Palestinian suffering – but it does dismantle the false claim that coexistence is impossible.

I speak as a Muslim, an African-born naturalized American and an interfaith leader. From that position, honesty matters. Israel has quietly saved African lives — providing free, lifesaving medical treatment, training African doctors and sharing expertise in agriculture, water technology and innovation. These acts were not demanded, and were not transactional. Gratitude for such deeds is not weakness; it is moral integrity.

Confusion around the word Zionism is often exploited to justify hatred. At its most basic and accurate meaning, Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people, like all peoples, have the right to a homeland where they can live in safety and dignity. The Quran, whose core teachings — not the later radical interpretations or hadith — recounts God instructing Moses and his people to enter the Holy Land assigned to them. Faith and attachment to land are not contradictions.

History also matters. After World War II, dozens of nations emerged through decolonization across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Israel is not an anomaly—it is part of that global transformation. Yet Israel alone is relentlessly singled out. There are 193 countries in the United Nations, 57 in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and 22 in the Arab League. There are roughly 16 million Jews worldwide, with Israel as their one homeland — a country smaller than many global cities and home to 10 million people, including 2 million Arab citizens. These facts demand serious questions, not hate filled slogans.

Oct. 7, 2023 was a day of unimaginable violence that shook not only Israel, but Jews around the world. It revealed how fast moral clarity can crumble when hate and bigotry is masked as activism. In its aftermath, it has become painfully clear that defending human life also demands defending truth.

While we were in Israel, an antisemitic massacre occurred in Australia — claiming innocent lives, including a Holocaust survivor. That tragedy made one thing clear: silence is no longer an option.

Standing against antisemitism requires visibility as well as words. Raising the Israeli flag is not provocation; it is recognition — of sovereignty, democracy and the right of a people to exist in safety. What unites antisemites across borders is not theology, but an obsessive hatred of Israel. That hatred must be confronted openly, courageously, and peacefully.

This moment is not about choosing sides in a conflict, it is about choosing truth over distortion, dignity over hatred, and courage over silence. Let us raise a generation of Muslims who are not taught to hate — and a generation of Jews who do not feel abandoned.

New York can and must be a model: a city where disagreement does not become dehumanization, and solidarity does not require uniformity.

Justice without vengeance. Truth without fear. Peace grounded in reality.

Shalom. Salaam.

Sheikh Musa Drammeh is president of Muslims-Israel Dialogue.