DC synagogue hosts iftar meal in show of solidarity between Jews, Muslims

In a show of interfaith solidarity, over 100 people attended Congregation B’nai Tzedek in a Washington DC suburb on Thursday for an Interfaith Iftar organized by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC), in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). 

Iftar is the fast-breaking evening meal for Muslims during Ramadan, held at the time of the call to prayer of the Maghrib prayer. 

The event's additional organizers included Masjid Muhammad: The Nation’s Mosque, Muslim Women’s Speakers, and the Embassy of Israel to the United States. The House of Ruach Foundation sponsored it. Masjid Muhammad was not in attendance at the event.

The Ramadan event included speeches, a Muslim prayer, and a festive fast-breaking meal.

In attendance were the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Ambassador to the United States, Sven Alkalaj, and the Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the US Department of State, Aaron Keyak. 

The primary event organizer, Anila Ali, president of AMMWEC, was the first speaker. She began by saying, “We are gathered here today to celebrate our friendship and our solidarity. Rabbi Weinblatt has opened his house at a very critical time. We had an ifar that was beautiful last year, and we wanted to return, and we were worried that he may not let us, but I'm so happy to be here, and so is my board, so thank you for being courageous.”

Showing up is courageous

Several of the following speakers echoed her sentiment that it was courageous to show up at the interfaith event. 

Ali continued, “AMMWEC’s vision is very simple. We want a world where Muslims fight antisemitism, Jews fight islamophobia, and together, we fight hate because we know what hate is. We know what hate is we know that it starts with the Jewish people, but it doesn't end there.” 

Following Ali, the Senior rabbi of the conservative congregation spoke. He said that the fate of Jews and Muslims is entangled, as “we are all children of Abraham.” He said that because we are siblings, “our relationships can be complicated at times.” He then shared that the event received hate messages, requiring the synagogue to tighten security for the event. He thanked the law enforcement stationed within and outside the synagogue.  

Through many of the speeches, statements on the importance of showing solidarity in these challenging times were shared. The Israeli Ambassador to the United States said, “These are dark days, and it is doubly important during such dark days to have interfaith gatherings to get together and to build bridges, and I believe that the values in our common faith in Judaism and Islam could help build bridges.”

He continued, “Hamas does not represent the true Spirit of Islam. I would say, if I may, that Hamas kidnapped people and also hijacked Islam on October 7th.”

According to The Forward, there were fewer Muslim attendees of the event this year than in previous years. According to the report, more than a dozen Muslims and 150 Jews attended the event. 

The previous year, the event was co-sponsored by the Israeli, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan embassies. This year, only one official from a Muslim-majority country attended this year’s iftar, the Bosnian ambassador to the US, Sven Alkalaj, who is Jewish. In Alkalaj’s speech, he highlighted Muslim and Jewish coexistence and defense of one another in times of persecution. He recounted the history of Muslims who protected Jews in what was then Axis-occupied Yugoslavia during the Holocaust and told the story of the Sarajevo Haggadah that was hidden in a mosque so it would not end up in the clutches of the Nazis. 

In his speech, Rabbi Weinblatt noted that this year, on this day, both Jews and Muslims fasted at the same time as the iftar event coincides with the Fast of Ester, a day commemorating the time when Ester asked the Jews of Shushan to pray on her behalf as she went to ask the king to revoke Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews. He concluded, “I pray our fast may make us hungry for peace.”