Shoulder to shoulder
US Muslims and Jews stand in solidarity following a wave of hate crimes.
Jewish cemeteries in the US states of Pennsylvania and Missouri vandalised, their gravestones toppled over. The window of an Illinois synagogue broken and the front door graffitied with swastikas. Arsons at mosques in Florida and Texas. That’s just within the last month as Muslim and Jewish communities in the United States grapple with a wave of hate crimes directed at them. On Monday alone there were bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers and schools in at least 11 states.
US President Donald Trump has condemned the attacks, saying, “We have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms.” But despite the condemnation, President Trump, or at least his presidential campaign, may be to blame. This is according to researchers with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group’s annual census found the number of hate groups in the United States rose for a second year in a row in 2016. The report attributes Trump’s candidacy, which “energized hate groups”, as the impetus for the rise.
But these crimes have done anything but create a divide; they’ve often brought people together. After the cemetery in Missouri was vandalised, a group of Muslims arrived to help stand headstones back up. When a mosque in Texas burned to the ground, leaving Muslim worshippers without a place to pray, the Jewish people in the town handed over the keys to their synagogue. Activists have created viral online donation pages to aid in the cleanup of attacks.
Members from both faiths join The Stream to discuss the unfortunate circumstances that are bringing their communities together.
On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Lecia Brooks @diversitymtrs
Outreach Director, Southern Poverty Law Center
splcenter.org
Jake Turx @JakeTurx
White House Correspondent, Ami Magazine
amimagazine.org
Jenan Mohajir @JenanMohajir
Leadership Curriculum Consultant, Interfaith Youth Core
ifyc.org
Dr. Gary Branfman
Board member, Temple B’nai Israel
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