![]() | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(July 2017) |
Formation | 2016 |
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Location | |
Co-Chairs | Farooq Kathwari and Stanley M. Bergman |
Parent organization | American Jewish Committee and Islamic Society of North America |
Website | www |
The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council is an interfaith, bipartisan collaboration established by the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America in early fall 2016. Its 46 members are business, religious, and political leaders from all over the United States. The council's actions include creating "a coordinated strategy to address anti-Muslim bigotry and antisemitism" and to "protect and expand the rights of religious minorities" in the United States. [1] [2] More recently the council has turned its focus to public policy advocacy targeting the rise in hate crimes based on religion in the United States. [3] [4]
The co-chairs of the council are Stanley Bergman, the CEO of Henry Schein, [5] and Farooq Kathwari, the CEO of Ethan Allen. According to Bergman, "Our two communities share much in common and should find ways, where possible, to work together for the benefit of the entire country." [6] Kathwari has said, "The Council aims to provide a model for civic engagement by two communities, vital to American society, that agree to work together on issues of common concern and overlapping interest." [7] While the strategic need for the communities to work together is longstanding, discussions around the creation of the council began in the summer of 2016. AJC began reaching out to Muslim partner organisations and friends. [8]
In November 2016 the Islamic Society of North America and the American Jewish committee launched their first meeting. The council decided to focus on advocacy and on bringing together council members from each group to meet and get to know each other, as well as to discuss the group's mission and goals as a new council. [9] [10]
The council has two main goals:
There are forty-four members of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, including the two co-chairs of the board. These members include business, political, and religious leaders in the American Jewish and American Muslim communities. [12]
In addition to the National Council, MJAC has expanded across the United States with local regional councils. As of 2020, there are 11 regional councils in Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Regional councils bring together local business, professional, civil society, and religious leaders from both communities to work on issues of common concern. [13] [14] [15]
Nostra aetate, or the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, is an official declaration of the Vatican II, an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. It was promulgated on 28 October 1965 by Pope Paul VI. Its name comes from its incipit, the first few words of its opening sentence, as is tradition. It passed the Council by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops.
Arab–Israeli peace projects are projects to promote peace and understanding between the Arab League and Israel in different spheres. These are part of a broader attempt at a peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. Sponsors of such projects can be found both in Israel and Palestine.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to The New York Times, is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish organizations". As of 2009, AJC envisions itself as the "Global Center for Jewish and Israel Advocacy".
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a nonprofit organization based in Plainfield, Indiana. It provides a number of programs and services to the Muslim community and broader society. ISNA holds an annual convention which is generally regarded as the largest annual gathering of Muslims in the US.
The American Jewish Congress is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.
Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (UCSJ) is a non-governmental organization that reports on the human rights conditions in countries throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, exposing hate crimes and assisting communities in need. UCSJ uses grassroots-based monitoring and advocacy, as well as humanitarian aid, to protect the political and physical safety of Jewish people and other minorities in the region. UCSJ is based in Washington, D.C., and is linked to other organizations such as the Moscow Helsinki Group. It has offices in Russia and Ukraine and has a collegial relationship with human rights groups that were founded by the UCSJ in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Farooq Kathwari is a Kashmiri-American businessman who is currently the CEO of Ethan Allen.
Bernie M. Farber is a Canadian writer, commentator, and the former chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress and a social activist. He has testified before the Canadian courts as an expert witness on hate crime.
Kenneth S. Stern is an American attorney and an author. He is the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, a program of the Human Rights Project at Bard College. From 2014 to 2018 he was the executive director of the Justus & Karin Rosenberg Foundation. From 1989 to 2014 he was the director of antisemitism, hate studies and extremism for the American Jewish Committee. In 2000, Stern was a special advisor to the defense in the David Irving v. Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt trial. His 2020 book, The Conflict Over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate, examines attempts of partisans of each side to censor the other, and the resulting damage to the academy.
Antisemitism has existed for centuries in the United States. Most Jewish community relations agencies in the United States draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents. FBI data shows that in every year since 1991, Jews were the most frequent victims of religiously motivated hate crimes, according to a report which was published by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. Evidence suggests that the true number of hate crimes against Jews is underreported, as is the case for many other targeted groups. In an attempt to combat anti-Semitism, the Biden administration launched the United States’ first-ever comprehensive U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism on May 25, 2023.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is a New York-based international Jewish non-governmental organization and advocacy group that specializes in civil rights law and combats antisemitism and extremism.
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The Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) was founded in 1991 to further understanding and communication between members of different faith communities and to build foundations for lasting fellowship.
"Our mission is to harness the teachings and values of the three Abrahamic faiths and transform religion's role from a force of division and extremism into a source of reconciliation, coexistence and understanding for the leaders and followers of these religions in Israel and in our region."
The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) is the democratic representative body of all the Jewish communities of Scotland. The Council was founded in 1999 in response to Scottish devolution, with the principal aim of providing the Jewish community of Scotland with a single voice in dealings with the Scottish Parliament and Government, other communities, and other statutory and official bodies.
Sharon Nazarian is an Iranian-born American social activist, academic and philanthropist. She is currently the Senior Vice President, International Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League.
The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is a faith-based civic organization founded in 2010 by members of a Detroit-based interfaith group known then as the Interfaith Partners. Its headquarters are in Oak Park, Michigan.
The working definition of antisemitism is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads:
Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
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Samantha Woll was a Jewish community leader, founder of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit, the president of Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit, Michigan. On October 21, 2023, she was found stabbed to death outside her home. Her killing, amid increased tensions during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, has drawn international attention, though police have not found evidence that her slaying had antisemitic motivations.