Last week, the Islamic Society of Mid Manhattan hosted a multifaith Passover celebration with Temple Emanu-El and the NYC Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee, a sharing of food and traditions of the holiday for the 100 people who attended.
Imam Ahmed Dewidar of the Islamic Society of Mid Manhattan praised the interfaith gathering, “Isn’t it beautiful to have our Jewish brothers and sisters in the mosque? I think we should be proud of our community here in New York.”
“I don’t believe anything quite like this has happened in New York before,” said Rabbi Allison Tick Brill, of Temple Emanu-El.
In the story recounted every year on Passover, Jews escaped oppression in the land of Egypt at about 1300 BCE. Rabbi Tick Brill said that this feeling of being “outsiders” is what both faiths should be able to relate to. “It is particularly powerful to celebrate Passover here at this mosque because unfortunately, Muslim Americans are made to feel strangers in their own country,” said the rabbi.
