(NEWS) Standing With Muslims To Fight Islamophobia

"What business does an American rabbi have speaking at a European conference about Islamophobia, and what can an Orthodox Jewish leader be expected to say about how to better combat anti-Muslim hatred?

Isn’t it odd that in a world where the common perception is that Jews and Muslims are sworn enemies, a rabbi from the most conservative stream of Judaism would be called on to speak on behalf of Muslims?

These are the questions I found myself asking before embarking on a more than 20-hour trip to Kazakhstan last week to participate in a discussion on Islamophobia at the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination.

My message to the European leaders was simple: I stand here as an Orthodox rabbi because of the horrendous 2,000-year history of anti-Semitism; the demonization, persecution and often mass murder of Jewish men, women and children. I feel a profound moral obligation to prevent anything like that from happening to any other people."