Speech
before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on February 7, 2001:
Salam Al-Marayati,
Director, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Temple Kol Tikvah
Dr. Maher Hathout, Islamic Center of Southern California
Rabbi John Rosove, Temple Israel
Joe Hicks, Moderator, Executive Director,
City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission
"Transcending
Middle East Hostilities: A Code of
Ethics for Dialogue"
Joe Hicks
I’m very pleased to be here this afternoon and to facilitate this discussion
between a very distinguished panel. By the way, each and every one of these panelists is my
friend and my colleague, so this will be an interesting discussion.
Let me perhaps start by saying why a guy from the L.A. City Human
Relations Commission is moderating this panel.
We have had an interest in this Jewish-Muslim Dialogue Group from the
very beginning. In fact, we endorsed its coming together.
We are a cosigner of the document, so we have very much wanted to see
this formation thrive and survive and do the work that it has set itself out to
do. So, we’re pleased in any way
to help continue its work and have perhaps even sharpened some discussions
between members of this grouping.
Now, I think it’s clear that we are not going to be able, here in Los Angeles,
to solve some of the tensions and issues that emerge out of Middle Eastern
politics. Couldn’t do that.
What we can do, though, is perhaps talk about the context of some of
those conflicts and tensions in the Middle East and how they interact on
leadership here, communities here. One
of the things that we’ve always been interested in here in Los Angeles is how
to provide a very civil framework to have the discussions between members of
that community. Let me just read to
you one part of the Code of Ethics that I think stands out in terms of the
meaning for today’s discussion. It
says, “While we may disagree on some important issues, even passionately, we
believe that dialogue over our disagreements should always be conducted with
civility and respect.” I think
that’s a very important part of this agreement to point out because, even in
today’s discussion I have no feelings that sort of engagement between our
panelists would not be in the spirit of this.
They will certainly be civil and respectful of each other and also
between us as we take this discussion. I
urge that you take this to heart and in our exchanges here today try to live out
the context of this document.
Enough said, because we want to get directly to the discussions and then have
you interact with our panel. I want
the panelists to interact with each other --and again, let me stress before we
get to the Q&A session we have a lot of things to get to here.
One of my jobs here, and one I take quite seriously, I will put on my
badge and be the Sheriff of the Beverly Hills Hotel and monitor very carefully
your questions to make sure that we don’t have people get up and give
speeches. We want questions that
our panelists can respond to and I will be as harsh as I need to be,
respectfully and civilly, in that regard.
So let’s get to our panelists and hear what they have to say.
I’m as interested as you are in what you’ll hear from them and I
think we want to start out initially by having Rabbi Jacobs give his comments.
Rabbi Steven Jacobs
It’s an honor and pleasure to be here and a challenge also.
Aside from so many of you who are here because you chose to be here there
are colleagues who are here who make this city what it is, and I want to just
pay attention to some of them for a moment.
My dear colleague, mentor and teacher, Rabbi Alfred Wolf, is here from
the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and I want to acknowledge his presence as well
that of another dear friend, Ignacio Castella, the head of the community church
United Methodist Church in Pacific Palisades.
Also, a dear friend, Rev. Ed Bacon of All Saints, a church in Pasadena.
Also, our dear friend, I’m delighted that he’s here after going through
surgery, Stanley Sheinbaum. So
acknowledging those people is to acknowledge what this complex city is about and
how we interact together. It’s a
tribute to them for their hard work and for their passion and their
extraordinary ability to bring people together.
In our synagogue prayer book for the High Holy Days we read a reflection—“Do
you love me?” “Of course, I
love you.” “Do you know what
pains me?” “No, of course,
not.” “Then how could you love
me?” We need to know each
other’s pain. We need to know
each other’s hurts. Both of our
communities are so set, and perhaps even strident, with each other that aside
from some individual personal relationship, it is difficult to find some common
ground and deal not only with hurts and pains but with the anger that is in both
of our communities. And there is
another problem. Both of our
communities, and to a great degree it exists in the rest of the country if not
the world, is the stereotyping that goes on about Muslims and Jews. “They” are terrorists.
“Islam” is violence. “They”
want to destroy Israel. “We”
are rich, insensitive, intransigent, blaming, controlling and we will never
share Jerusalem. Jews and Muslims
know little about each other. Even
the term Judeo-Christian excludes Muslims.
So interesting since Islam is based on divine revelation.
We should be talking, especially in this country, about the
Judeo-Christian-Islamic ethic, as all three traditions are rooted in the
Abrahamic tradition.
We Jews have little understanding that we live best with tolerance and
cooperation with Muslims. While
atrocities inflicted on Jews in Christian Europe over the centuries were
horrendous, including the Holocaust and the Crusades, Jews and Muslims lived
side by side. In 1492, Jews were
expelled from Spain. It was illegal
for Muslims and Jews to practice their religion.
Together we were forced to convert to Christianity or die.
Jews went to Turkey under Muslim rule and we were generously received.
The Sultan of Turkey wrote about Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain, about
the Jews, and I quote: “They impoverished their kingdom and enriched mine.” Jews
in two period of history have been treated well and flourished: once in Muslim
Spain and Turkey and currently here in America.
Joe Hicks, our moderator, was quoted recently in the newspaper as saying
“People have, by and large, begun to make peace with the fact that they’re
going to be living in this multi-cultural, multi-racial world and have to make
some accommodations to that.” We
have to make more than accommodations. We
have to learn how to live with one another.
In what I consider to be a stunning article written by Salam Al-Marayati
to rabbis all around the world, he writes an article in the Central
Conference of American Rabbis Journal defining terrorism for America, Jewish
and Muslim cases in their readings by the American public.
I hope that the World Affairs Council can reproduce this for every one of
you. He says in his opening
paragraph: “Imagine the response when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, imagine
the response if the killer was Arab, imagine the explosion of rage in the United
States where there already exists a predisposition in some circles to see Arabs
primarily as perpetrators of violence”. Then
Salam writes in another paragraph, “We may not have the ability to change the
realities in the Middle East, but we can create an independent relationship that
can help foster better relationships here and now.”
When Christian fundamentalists bomb abortion clinics and kill physicians in the
name of defending Christianity, the media do not identify that violent act as a
holy war, even though Christian fundamentalists claim the Bible and God.
In this brief moment of time, I want to also say something about relationships
and our responsibility. When Dr.
Maher Hathout was asked to be one of the four people giving an invocation at the
Democratic National Convention here in Los Angeles The Wall Street Journal wrote
an editorial demeaning the choice by the Democrats and attacking Dr. Hathout.
My colleague, Rabbi Leonard Beerman and I responded to that and, in part,
I just want to read you these three short paragraphs:
“How demeaning to The Wall Street Journal to lend itself to an
attack on Dr. Maher Hathout, a distinguished Muslim leader of L.A., a man of
great integrity, wisdom and humaneness who more than anyone we know has sought
to improve understanding of mutual appreciation among all religions.
Some of our Jewish organizations have failed to prevent Israel from
seeking an accommodation for its former Arab enemies.
They have been relentless in their attack of Muslim leaders here in
America, held them from seeking to prevent increased understanding between
Muslims and Jews, but in no way can it speak to the many Jews who hold Dr.
Hathout in the highest admiration, and we’re appalled at the treatment that he
has been given.” Against the
enemies of peace and reconciliation, Dr. Hathout, together with other leading
Muslims and many of us in the Jewish community, are united in our efforts to
build the only society in which both of our people can be secure.
So we invite people to join us in this endeavor and to put an end to the
unwarranted denunciation of those who engage in it.
In the introduction, you heard that he and his family were attacked,
their names given on the Internet [an encouragement for] hate-filled crimes, I
think, against this man who only wants peace.
We may have differences, but we walk together.
And finally, we have much more in common than what divides us.
The issues of charity, charitable-based [activities], that is being
considered by President Bush has to be seriously considered by us together and
the Jewish community, the Muslim community and what can possibly take place with
the interference and the breaking down of the wall that is so special to so many
of us in the separation of church and state.
Charity and Judaism. Most people understand the Hebrew word “sudacca”
[sic]. Most understand it to mean
“charity.” Friends, it is not
charity. “Sudacca” is
“justice.” And that’s why
we’re here today. To bring
justice not only to our communities but to understand each other, to work
together and to fulfill the ancient biblical notion of “shalom” of peace.
Thank you very much.
Salam Al-Marayati
Good afternoon. My name is Salam Al
Marayati. Following Rabbi Jacob’s
eloquent remarks I have to make one correction.
In that paper which we are calling the “Code of Ethics” on the
reference to Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, that wasn’t my quote.
That was Howard Rosenberg’s quote, but thanks for the credit anyway.
I’m also going to talk a little bit about history, not as far back as Rabbi
Jacob’s took us, but more about history of dialogue in Los Angeles.
It’s been in existence for about thirty years and one of the pioneers
is Rabbi Alfred Wolf who is here with us today.
Another is Msgr. Royale Vadakin of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
It was also instrumentally advanced by Muslim leaders like Mohsen El-Biali
and Dr. Sabri El-Farra and it was also a part of Dr. Maher Hathout’s vision
for the establishment of a Muslim, an American Muslim, community here.
It was driven by several factors. One,
the need to know about one another instead of just talking about each other. That we are all the followers of Abraham.
Two, the need to establish a common ground of interfaith-based
initiatives based on the concept and principles of ethical monotheism.
Therefore, there were papers that were produced on bio-ethics in the
first amendment in relation to these various communities.
Three, the need to meet challenges and opportunities of a growing reality
of diversity in Los Angeles and in America.
Of course, the major challenge of the Jewish-Muslim Dialogue and Jewish-Muslim
relations in the United States is how to handle the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. There have been other
challenges that have faced us in the past.
For example, in 1995 in the Oklahoma City bombing and its aftermath there
was a scapegoating of Muslims on a national level and there is also a national
embarrassment over that kind of stereotyping.
This, unfortunately, is part of an attempt to make Islam the new enemy of
America after the demise of the Soviet Union.
We invited Jewish leaders afterwards to talk about this problem and how
we can improve relations with one another, to allow the voice of the mainstream
on both sides who are really representing itself in true proportions in public
opinion-making. Therefore, Dr.
Maher Hathout had presented at that time his concept of a Code of Ethics and
Rabbi Janet Marther [sic] of the Union of American Hebrew Congregationalists
provided a model of a Code of Ethics that was signed by Jewish groups among the
Reform Orthodox and Conservative. So
we used that model, and we have what is before us today, the current Code of
Ethics of the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue.
That effort unfortunately stalled at that time but it was resurrected in July
1999 after my nomination to the National Commission on Terrorism by House
Minority Leader Richard Gephardt. He was lobbied, unfortunately, by various Zionist groups to
withdraw my nomination and he did succumb to that pressure at that time, but
what happened afterwards was remarkable.
We had saw Jewish leaders, especially those here in Los Angeles, and
several media outlets, outraged over the withdrawal of that nomination and so
the Code of Ethics was resurrected, and it’s very interesting seeing that
we’re dealing with only Muslims and Jews.
In December of 1999, the signing took place under the auspices of the L.A. City
Human Relations Commission and the leadership of its Executive Director, Mr. Joe
Hicks. The agenda is very simple:
increase our understanding of one another, denounce stereotyping, scapegoating
and terrorism collectively. Perhaps
we can begin a civil discourse on peace, justice and democracy in the Middle
East. If we can do that, we believe this is a major contribution to
American interests abroad because this dialogue, in my opinion, is central to
the advancement of U.S. foreign policymaking.
In fact, Congressman Richard Gephardt after he had apologized to us and
had a forum with us under the auspices of the Inter-faith Alliance--his
Executive Director is here today--on Capital Hill said he would like to see
interfaith dialogue within the Congress.
So, we have various issues: One,
the agreement to disagree. Two,
that each side understands that we should allow one another to speak on our own
terms, not ones imposed on us and that there is a no tolerance level for
intimidation or silence. Perhaps
then we can help in preventing first and foremost any kind of hate crimes and
violence emanating from the Middle East from entering American streets.
Alex Odeh, one of our dear friends, the former director of the American
Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, died as a result of a terrorist act here in
Orange County in 1985. We have not
forgotten his struggle for peace and for free thinking, and if this Code of
Ethics can help in preventing that kind of violence from happening here on
American streets, then we believe that we have made a major contribution and
have succeeded so that we can show our children that religion is not a vehicle
for rivalry or revenge, but it is an instrument for reconciliation and for
public service.
Thank you very much.
Rabbi John Rosove
Good afternoon. My name is Rabbi
John Rosove. I’m the rabbi at the
Temple Israel of Hollywood here in Los Angeles, and I was taught in rabbinical
school never to follow a colleague when they use your material. Believe it or
not, Steve, I prepared my remarks to start out with the exact same story that
you did. Exactly the same story!
Just to remind you of it, a Hassidic rabbi goes to one of his disciples
and says ‘Do you love me?” and if any of you understand the relationship of
a Hassid to his rabbi, it’s a nonsensical question because the Hassid is not a
Hassid without his rabbi, and he says, “Of course, Rabbi, I love you.”
“Do you know what hurts me?” “No,
I don’t.” “Then how can you
say you love me if you don’t know what hurts me?” Now, between Muslims and Jews there’s not a lot of love in
this community, and certainly in the Middle East and around the world and
mostly, I think, because we don’t know one another.
We are not only not in contact, physical contact, with one another but we
don’t understand each other’s religious traditions, our faith-based
traditions, we only understand each other from the way the media has presented
each of us to the other in the context of Middle East politics in particular.
I believe in dialogue. I know many
of you are involved in dialogue of all kinds.
I was for a while part of the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue.
In fact, in the study in my synagogue is a bust of Pope John XXIII which
was given to me by my aunt. When
she passed away she left it to me. She
was involved through the American Jewish Committee in that kind of dialogue with
the Pope. I’m very proud of it.
Many people don’t know why. They
think it’s a Jew because the Pope has a kippah, but I don’t tell them unless
they ask. And for a while I was
also involved in a very close dialogue relationship with Reverend Kenneth
Flowers of the Messiah Baptist Church in South Central until he went away to
Detroit. I became a member of the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue.
I should say right here that none of us who are part of this forum represents
the Dialogue. We are here as
individuals, we were invited as individuals, there are other members of the
Dialogue who are here today. Aslam,
I saw you at some point. Good to
see you as well as Elaine Alpert who is from the Jewish Community Relations
Committee. We do not represent
their view. We are not appointed by
the Dialogue, and I wanted to make that very clear.
I became a member of the Dialogue primarily because I didn’t understand the
very basis of Islam. I didn’t
know why Muslims do what they do, what is the basis of their faith traditions.
I am amazed that literally one-fifth of the world, one billion people,
are Muslims and that to me says that there’s something very, very compelling
within Islam, that as a Jew, as a member of a faith community that comes out of
the same patriarch, Abraham, I needed to know more.
And I also wanted to know how it is that Muslims differ with each other
as they do, particularly in their attitudes towards Judaism and Jews and towards
Israel and Zionism. What do they
think of me as a passionate lover of the Jewish state and of Zion? And I wanted to understand more about what it was that
motivated them in whatever their attitudes.
My faith group, which I as well as many of us in this room know goes back
3,500 years; Islam goes back 1,500 years and I know that Mohammed is the
beginning of Islam, but I want my Muslim friends to know that Judaism continues
on and continues to evolve.
What do I see as the agenda of any Jewish-Muslim Dialogue?
First, as our preceding speakers have indicated, that we each obtain
greater knowledge of each other and a greater appreciation for whom each of us
is coming from a separate faith community.
That we find common ground in a number of areas as American citizens,
particularly in the areas of church-state and First Amendment issues around hate
crimes, around bigotry of all kinds, on stereotyping of Muslims and Jews by each
other and in the media and that we find a way to express ourselves civilly
always and not through inflammatory rhetoric. Even if we don’t agree on
everything, and certainly there are profound and serious differences between
those of us sitting on this dais, particularly in relationship to Israel and the
Palestinian movement, and they are profound and serious, that doesn’t mean
that as a very basic minimum we shouldn’t be able to sit in a room and talk to
each other in a way that dignifies each other, created in the image of God.
Rabbi Jacobs and I are part of this Dialogue because we believe that in the
words of Martin Buber, “One cannot fully bring God’s presence into a
relationship unless there is a true I-thou meeting,” which means that we
listen and that we hear and that we express our separate truths of who each of
us is and then be accepted on that basis without any ulterior motive, without
any hidden agenda and with perfect honesty and a sense of faith.
So, it’s good to be here with you and I thank you for inviting me.
Dr. Maher Hathout
Bismillah Al Raheem Al Rahim. In the name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful.
Of course, I can claim that I was preparing the same story that the two
rabbis told, but this would be a little bit of a stretch.
It is nice to be the last speaker because everything has already been
said and also they took all the time allocated for the forum so I’ll be very
brief in highlighting and sharing a few things with you.
Dialogue does not pop out from nowhere. Dialogue
is a result of a need, a real need, a conviction and division of some
visionaries and a determination and people who are spiritually inspired by their
faith to maintain that kind of relationship.
To be honest with you, amongst all factors as far as I’m concerned I am
inspired and much into that dialogue by two verses from my scriptures, from the
Quran. One of them says, “Don’t
debate with the people of scripture unless you use the nicest means of
debate.” For those who want to
refer to the verse, it is Chapter 29, verse 46 in the Quran.
There is another verse that says “Always deal with bad with something
good until the enemy becomes the closest of friends.” So based on that kind of spiritual relationship, you can’t
deny us to bring spirituality to deal with reality, and I’m feel that
dialoguing with my colleagues here is actually a spiritual exercise that brings
me personally closer to God.
I want to bring awareness to a couple of points.
One, dialogue is not negotiation. We
are not Muslims and Jews seeking to negotiate something and to seek a common
ground. No, we are here to understand each other’s grounds.
We are not finding a compromising solution.
Let people at Camp David or wherever they go try to do that.
We are trying to understand each other, not to convince, not to compare.
We are here to know as the rabbis mentioned, both of them, where are you
coming from, why do you think the way you think, is there any merit to what you
are saying or what you are doing even if we disagree with it?
This is very important. We
are not in a negotiation mode. We
are in a mode of honesty and openness, and hopefully we understand more about
each other and it will be great if we can actually feel each other’s pain.
A Muslims and Jews Dialogue in particular is probably more interesting because
of obvious reasons. Number one, we
are two communities that are by their nature, for whatever reasons, genetic or
from God, are very passionate people. Number
two, religion and history form a great part of our identity.
We cannot cut ourselves off and say “Hey, let us be pragmatic. We are born in today.”
No, we were born several thousand years ago, like the rabbi said.
I will not go through the theology discussion, but definitely the depth
of history is part of our identity. Number
three, we are both communities of mission.
We believe that we’re here in life to make change.
We are not just here to live and die.
We wanted to see certain changes done.
Also, our passions extend to places outside America and we are wrongly
accountable for events that we do not control.
So all these peculiarities make the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue a greater
challenge. It becomes more
significant as things get more tough.
I have already been asked by several media outlets what do you think of the
elections in Israel. Is there any
future for the Dialogue? The
Dialogue was made for situations like that and, yes, there must be a future for
dialogue if we want any future for any intelligent discourse and exchange
between human beings.
Thank you very much.