AJC Launches ‘Listening Tour’ to Strengthen Muslim-Jewish Relations

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is working to deepen engagement with American Muslim communities, institutions and leaders by creating a listening tour.

The AJC opened a dialogue in Washington D.C. this week with leadership from Masjid Muhammad, the Nation’s Mosque, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) among others.

Talking points included the joint battle fighting bigotry and hate crimes against Muslims and Jews, identifying and combating misperceptions and navigating intercommunal conversations regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Stanley Bergman, AJC honorary president and Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) national co-chair, and David Inlander, AJC Interreligious Affairs Commission chair, led the delegation.

“Jews and Muslims share traditions, values and culture, and in the United States, we both participate in a thriving democracy as religious minorities,” Ari Gordon, AJC’s U.S. director of Muslim-Jewish Relations, said in a statement. “We must learn to work through the tensions that threaten to divide us so that we can yield the fruit of working on a common agenda. This requires decisive action, but we must also listen, learn and understand what moves and disturbs our Muslim partners, even as we ask that they do the same about Jews.”

AJC leaders are also planning to visit American Muslim institutions across the country to inform AJC’s national leadership on the best ways to build bridges and partner with American Muslims.

In recent years, AJC has expanded its commitment to Muslim-Jewish relations by launching MJAC in partnership with ISNA and increasing outreach on the regional level.

In addition to their listening tour, AJC announced March 25 that they have partnered with the New Zealand Jewish Council to provide financial support to the Muslim community who was affected by the mass killing at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“The answer to those who traffic in hate, who perpetrate violence against houses of worship, must be unity, solidarity, and linked arms against evil,” AJC CEO David Harris said.

Imam Mohamed Magid, executive imam of the ADAMS Center, said in a statement, “Muslims and Jews need to stand up for each other when either group is attacked. We must also commit to fighting anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bigotry as they appear within our own communities.”