The news from the United States would suggest that all Muslims are against Israel and against Jews. But that’s a fallacy. There is no shortage of organizations in which Jews and Muslims sit together and cooperate on a variety of issues and projects.
This week, at a dinner held at the Dan Family Aish World Center across the Western Wall Plaza from the Temple Mount and al-Aqsa Mosque, eight Muslim religious and community leaders from the United States who were part of a Sharaka delegation broke bread with several Israelis from religious and secular backgrounds and 15 American delegates and alternate delegates from the Aish Ha’am Party who were in Israel for the World Zionist Congress (WZC).
Sharaka is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting people-to-people diplomacy in the Middle East through various projects. Its stated mission is to build communities and lead social initiatives that strengthen bonds between Israel and the Arab world.
Discussions between participants culminated in a moderated conversation between Rabbi Daniel Rowe, who serves as the Aish educational visionary and president of AISH U, and Sheikh Musa Drammeh, president of the Muslim-Israel Dialogue, an organization focused on interfaith cooperation and dialogue to promote peace and understanding between Muslim and Jewish communities.
The conversation was moderated by Alyssa Annis, the Holocaust education program manager for Sharaka, and focused on how each of the leaders in their respective communities can look to the past and perhaps find answers in their own religions to build bridges with one another and work toward lowering the hate in each of their respective communities.
“Hamas has hijacked the Muslim narrative, and Muslims all around the world believe that the only options in the Middle East consist of either supporting Israel or Hamas,” said Drammeh.
“This is a corruption of the narrative. Everyone hears so much about Gaza, but almost no one hears about the two million Muslim Israelis who are happy here and proud to call themselves Israeli. We need to take back the narrative and show that Islam doesn’t have to hate Judaism or Israel. This is relatively new. Throughout history, Muslims have not typically hated Jews. We need to get back to that, and it is possible.”
“In the short term, it often appears that evil will win, but in the long term, we see that good triumphs over evil. We need to have faith in one another and continue to put good into the world,” said Rowe. “We may not see its impact immediately, but in the end, all of the good that we put into the world will have a major impact and change the trajectory of human interaction.”
Conversations throughout the evening focused on Abraham as a guide for the possibility of peace and positive change and for taking responsibility in making that change happen.
Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO of Aish and head of the Aish Ha’am delegation to the WZC, in his welcome address said: “Abraham was the first person to take responsibility for other people’s well-being. He fought with God to save the lives of sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah and, by doing so, built a legacy that would change the world via his descendants. That is what we have here today, Abraham’s descendants coming together to make the world a better place through wisdom, love, and responsibility.”
Noam Meirov, who serves as the managing director of Sharaka, said: “The work we do at Sharaka is about building partnerships, true to our name. Together, we are deepening interfaith dialogue, advancing Holocaust education as a tool to counter hatred and extremism, and amplifying a message of hope, unity, and peace for all. We are thankful to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany for allowing us to bring these delegations.”
Aicha Cisse, who lives in the Bronx, was in Israel for the first time. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and equality and a member of the Muslim African Advisory Council and vice chair of New York’s African Advisory Council.
“It is eye-opening to see how amazing a country this is. In New York, things have gotten very bad, and it has even become okay to steal or murder people in the streets. We need to reclaim our moral clarity on several issues, and I think by having these dialogues with like-minded believers of any faith, we can find a common ground and begin to heal ourselves, our communities, and each other.”
Fellow New Yorker Bari Erber, a Jewish philanthropist and Aish Ha’am delegate to the WZC, said of the dinner: “This was a very moving and eye-opening event. I met people from my own city with incredibly different backgrounds but who had surprisingly the same viewpoints that I did.
“We were able to connect on the issues that align us, rather than focusing only on what divides us, which is what many politicians and media outlets do. In focusing on the common denominator, we can eliminate hate in our communities and build more tolerant cultures for the betterment of all of our futures.”
Peace is what we all wish for, but war is what we get
It affects our personal safety, security, economy, health, and creativity. It’s difficult to think of one without the other. This explains the anomalous title that well-known fashion designer Shay Shalom gave to the collection that he showed last week at the Israel-Canada Fashion Week at the Kremenitzky complex in Tel Aviv.
Shalom, whose surname means peace, called his collection that was inspired by IDF uniforms transformed into haute couture creations Army of Peace, which in Hebrew was a wordplay on both his name and the evolving battlefield attire into civilian creativity, symbolizing hope and a future of peace. His creations were paraded by leading models and former beauty queens, who included Shiraz Tal, Micky Mammon, Ingrid Feldman, Elena Ralph, Isabel Adler, and Jenny Chervoney.
Shalom has amassed quite a following over the years, including former justice minister Ayelet Shaked and many of Israel’s high society elite. They came, they saw, and they applauded.
Equally appreciative of Shalom’s creative talents was Motty Reif, a leading producer of fashion shows and a former male model. Reif initiated Tel Aviv Fashion Week several years after the demise of Israel Fashion Week, which brought many foreign buyers and fashion writers to Israel and which helped to put Israeli designs and designers on the global fashion map.
Reif, who had been involved with Israel Fashion Week, came up with the idea of a Tel Aviv Fashion Week, which he has been the producer of ever since. Reif believes that models who are no longer young should not be put out to pasture because women of every age like to be well dressed and up-to-date in their choice of attire. Thus, older models serve as an inspiration to women of their peer generation.
THE RUDERMAN Family Foundation, headed by Jay Ruderman of Boston and his Israeli wife, Shira, has three central missions. One is the inclusion of people who are physically and/or mentally challenged; another is to eliminate the stigma against people with mental health issues; and the third is strengthening relations between American Jewry and Israel.
Jay Ruderman spent one year in the IDF and later worked as a leadership director for AIPAC in Israel before returning to the US. Shira Ruderman spent three years as the commander of an intelligence unit in the IDF and is active at the executive level with the New England Friends of the IDF.
The foundation supports numerous causes in Israel and the US and confers awards on outstanding activists in mental health and the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Last week, the foundation announced that celebrated American Jewish fashion designer, activist, and founder of the Mental Health Coalition, Kenneth Cole, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion. The announcement recognizes Cole’s transformative leadership in confronting mental health stigma and building a national movement that includes fifty mental health organizations, as well as his commitment to social justice. The formal presentation of the award will take place in spring 2026 in New York City.
“Nearly five years ago, I founded the Mental Health Coalition with a clear understanding: We can and must confront the pervasive stigma surrounding mental health that prevents millions from seeking the essential treatment they deserve,” said Cole. “This award from the Ruderman Family Foundation is a meaningful reminder of how inclusion can change and save lives, continuing our efforts to destigmatize and prioritize mental health, fostering happier, more productive, and more connected communities.”