At this point, most people have heard about the proposed Islamic community center near the former site of the World Trade Center. It has dominated the news for more than two weeks. But the first I heard of the plan, now called Park51, was when I saw a New York Times article with the headline: “Jewish group opposes Muslim center near ground zero.” My immediate reaction: This is not the side of the fight that Jews should be on.

 

In much of the world, especially the Jewish and Muslim worlds, last week was one of sadness, confusion, anger, and mourning. Israel's attack on the Mavi Marmara, the ship of Turkish and Palestinian activists headed for Gaza, brought to the forefront a lot of the anger between our communities that most of the time bubbles just beneath the surface. And the reactions to the event, international in scope and accusatory in nature, seemed to indicate that the hatred and prejudices between Israelis and Palestinians in Israel and Palestine extend far beyond and reach deep into the hearts of many Jews and Muslims around the world.

But here in Evanston, it was--in my opinion--a much more hopeful week. This past Friday night, a half-dozen students from Northwestern's Muslim-cultural Student Association (McSA) visited Hillel for Shabbat services. The previous Friday afternoon, three students from Hillel's Leadership Council and I went to the Friday jummah prayer hosted weekly by McSA.