Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Jew-hatred increasing in even liberal parts of Turkey

From Die Welt, December 20, by high school student Ege Berk Korkut:

Jew-hatred has become an everyday phenomenon in Turkey. Although I live in Izmir, the most democratic city in Turkey, [even here there is] growing anti-Semitism. Everywhere I meet Jew-haters and enemies of Israel, listen to their prejudices on the daily bus trip or during a visit to a popular fast-food restaurants.

Many of them admired Hitler, wish he would have his "mission" brought to an end and not stop at six million murdered Jews. Though it disgusts me, I can do nothing. I belong to a minority in this country and I know that the government will not protect my rights, which is why it would not be a good idea to respond.

...I visit the twelfth grade of an [exclusive] high school. During a lesson the religious teachers talk about the operation "Pillar of Cloud" in Gaza.

Some students began to complain about Israel. They became more and more violent, and the teacher, an official of the Turkish state, said, "Do not worry, Israel will be destroyed one day, and the day is near that all Jews will pay for it." After the teacher had incited the students some students began to praise Hitler, while others expressed their readiness to drive the Israelis into the sea.

I was surprised. I did not expect that a teacher, a Turkish government official, would incite students to kill people just because they are different, especially in Izmir, where the people are known for their tolerance.

Jew-hatred is spreading and the influence of Sharia law have changed the secular society, even in the most advanced parts of Turkey, such that it is no longer possible to ignore it, at least as a Jew.

I have no hope that the situation will improve in the future. On the contrary, it gets worse every day. This is not surprising. Biased media and politicians spread the manipulative rhetoric, and the textbooks that are issued by the Turkish state are dripping with hatred of Jews.

In a country where children are taught to hate, true respect for diversity cannot thrive, which is the foundation of any free society. While the secular society collapses, the growing power of the Islamists continue every day. Therefore I am not pessimistic, but realistic when I say that Turkey's future is not rosy.

There were Arabic reports yesterday that the number of Turkish Jews moving to Israel have increased in the last two years, although I couldn't find the original article in Turkish.

(h/t Lachlan)

Hamas again outmaneuvers Fatah; no Fatah rally in Gaza

Fatah in Gaza has announced that it is canceling its planned rally to celebrate the 48th anniversary of its first terror attack.

Hamas refused to let Fatah use any of the large public squares in Gaza for the rally, Fatah was offered alternate venues, such as a soccer stadium, but they could not accommodate the expected 100,000 people Fatah was hoping for.

Fatah in Gaza decided not to complain too loudly about this in order to keep the facade of unity between Hamas and Fatah. Instead, they are calling on members to fly the yellow Fatah flag at their homes and to wear the keffiyeh, as a symbol of the movement.

This is actually a fairly big deal. Fatah allowed Hamas to hold a large public rally in Nablus. Which means the net effect is that Hamas is ascendant in the West Bank while Fatah is publicly invisible in Gaza. Hamas' refusal to allow a Fatah rally in the large public squares is being interpreted as a desire to ensure that Hamas has no visible competition in the sector.

"Unity," to Hamas, is only one way - for it to gain influence the West Bank without giving any quarter to Fatah in Gaza.

Once again, the Islamists completely outmaneuvered their opponents in the Middle East.

UNRWA closes three offices in WB following violence

From Ma'an:

UNRWA is closing three of its West Bank offices because protests are threatening the safety of its staff, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Wednesday.

The UN Relief and Works Agency said in a statement that it was forced to close the offices after protests shifted from peaceful demonstrations to "illegal acts."

During protests, demonstrators stopped UN vehicles and their drivers, and one vehicle was chased away by protesters carrying stones. A female employee was treated badly by protesters, the agency said.

Protests have been held in refugee camps across the West Bank over UNRWA's decision not to renew the contracts of 114 employees due to budget cuts.

"UNRWA reiterates that the decision related to the 114 contracts was the best possible choice we had. We wanted to avoid harming our services as a result of budget limitations. As we made clear before, the safety of our properties and our employees is a red line," the agency said.

UNRWA asked the Palestinian Authority to put an end to the protests, which it said were disrupting operations.

The statement is not on the UNRWA site.

It is unclear exactly what the protesters were doing - and whether UNRWA is downplaying their violence ("carrying stones" and treating someone "badly.")

I find it fascinating that UNRWA decides to stop providing services when their employees are under seemingly little danger. After all, the IDF still works to provide aid to Palestinian Arabs - during wartime - when literally under fire.

Does this mean that the IDF cares more about Palestinian Arabs than UNRWA does?

And the nation with the second highest percentage of Jews is....

Gibraltar?

Pew just came out with statistics showing the religious populations of every nation.

The nations with the highest percentage of Jews are:

1) Israel 75.6%
2) Gibraltar 2%
3) United States 1.8%
4) Monaco 1.7%
5) Belize 1%
6) Canada 1%

JTA looked at Gibraltar's impressive Jewish community a year ago:

Four synagogues, a mikvah, a kosher coffeehouse and separate boys and girls religious high schools.

Combined, they suggest a community far larger than just 750 Jews. But Gibraltar -- the tiny British overseas territory of 30,000 that sits at the foot of Spain and at the gateway to North Africa and the Mediterranean -- has spent centuries cultivating its individuality.

"We've got an infrastructure that could cope with a community of 2,000, and we've only got 700," said Mark Benady, a native Gibraltarian and vice president of the territory's Jewish community.

From the tables, we can also see how many nations have more Jews than Muslims:

Israel, United States, Monaco, Belize, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, San Marino, US Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Chile, and Hungary. Moldova is a tie, along with many nations that have less than 0.1% of both.

Notable EoZ blog posts of 2012 (part 1)

January:

An open letter to 17-year old Jesse Lieberfeld

HRW director finds fault with Israel for willingness to help Arabs

Latest libel: Israel's doctors are too careful with their patients' lives

To Reuters, they aren't just "Jewish settlers" anymore

February:

Fake photo of soldier stepping on girl goes viral

BDS professor at Penn explains how to demonize Israel IN EVERY CLASS and followup response from Penn

Disgusting BBC piece sympathizing with a child-killer terrorist

Criminal disingenuity from Peace Now's Lara Friedman

March:

Newspapers captioning Iron Dome as "firing rockets into Gaza"

Palestinian Arabs lie about teenager death

Turkish cosmetics company uses Hitler in commercial (This story truly went viral and was picked up by wire services. My video had over 225,000 views on YouTube)

972mag attacks Judaism

And:

Here's one that proves UN hypocrisy that for some reason was not very popular. Trying to give it a second chance .

I've also been tweeting some other posts that are worth revisiting..

Wednesday linkdump

From Ian:

Why Arabs Hate And Kill Palestinians by Khaled Abu Toameh

The Arab League did not hold an emergency meeting to discuss what Palestinians describe as "massacres " against the refugees in a Syrian camp, home to more than 50,000 people. Those who meddle in the internal affairs of Arab countries should not be surprised when bombs start falling on their homes. Palestinians are not always innocent victims. They bring tragedy on themselves and then want to blame everyone else but themselves.

After UN status upgrade, Palestinians seek to join other international organizations
Israel attempting to block move by pressuring Washington, host countries; Foreign Ministry memo reportedly warns EU will seek to impose Palestinian statehood, bypassing negotiations

"In the wake of its successful November UN status upgrade bid, the Palestinian Authority is now seeking to join other international organizations, Maariv reported on Wednesday. The list of organizations the Palestinians have applied to join include: the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO)."

How will European-Israeli relations look in 2013?

“Though Europe remains mired in a massive financial crisis, European capitals continue to fund NGOs that seek to undercut Israel’s democracy.
Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, the head of NGO Monitor who teaches political science at Bar- Ilan University, wrote the Post, “Europeans also need to practice the values that they preach, particularly with respect to democracy and transparency. The recent confused decision of the European Court of Justice, which allowed the EU to keep all documents and procedures relating to funding of political NGOs as super-sensitive secrets, and the ECJ’s failure to hold a single session to hear oral arguments, highlights the gap between lofty principles and anti-democratic practice. After the Israeli elections in 2013, the conflict over EU secret funding for NGOs promoting political warfare against Israel is likely to intensify.”

A divided message of peace
Palestinian threats force Jews and Arabs to hold separate Christmas coexistence events.

"With the help of American aerial artist John Quigley, Israelis and Palestinians had planned to form a large human sculpture of a peace sign, with the concrete barrier running through it.
But at the last moment, threats from Palestinian hard-liners to sabotage the project forced organizers to scrap the barrier event out of safety concerns."

Palestinians allegedly planned to kidnap Israeli in the West Bank
Security services arrest 10 on terror charges; hostage was to be used as bargaining chip in bid to release jailed terror chief

"Two of the suspects were allegedly planning to kidnap an Israeli citizen or soldier. According to suspicions, the kidnapped Israeli was to be held as collateral and released in exchange for Ahmad Saadat, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine."

Stretch of West Bank Highway Has Become Known as “Roulette Road” After Increase in Arab Attacks on Israeli Drivers

"A stretch of Highway 60 that crosses the territory has become known as “Roulette Road” because of the threats travelers face while traversing it. Only last week three Israelis were injured while traveling down the road, including an IDF officer who suffered a wound to the head so severe that it required surgery. The latest incident, which left one Israeli lightly hurt, occurred on Monday."

Court: End of Free College for Terrorists
The High Court ruled Tuesday that terrorist security prisoners were not eligible for free university education in Israeli schools.

Senior Hamas leader calls for third intifada By Khaled Abu Toameh
Head of Hamas J'lem Dept calls for renewed confrontation with Israel over plans to build new housing units in e. J'lem.

Hamas outlaws contact with Israeli media outlets By Khaled Abu Toameh
Gaza-based terror group calls "zionist" media outlets "hostile," bans Palestinians from contact with Israel.

Haniyeh: Israel is a 'Cancerous Tumor'
"Israel is a cancerous tumor that must be removed and uprooted," Hamas's PM says in a conference on education.

MEMRI: Saudi Cleric Al-Munajid Issues Fatwa Permitting Hacking into "Jewish Websites”

CIF Watch: ’The Jewish State Which Ruined Christmas in Bethlehem’: A Guardian Production

"Yet, like a holiday ritual, Harriet Sherwood, in the spirit of Phoebe Greenwood’s ugly Guardian piece last year (‘If Jesus were to come this year Bethlehem would be closed’, Guardian, Dec. 22, 2011) chose to advance, as if by rote, a predictable Christmas tale of Israeli oppression against Christians."

Honest Reporting: Editor’s Picks: 10 Best Blog Posts of 2012

Report: Syria Converted Combat Aircraft to Drones with WMDs
A MiG-21 combat aircraft flown by a Syrian pilot who defected was found to have been upgraded back in Syria to carry chemical weapons.

"A MiG-21 combat aircraft flown by a Syrian pilot who defected to Jordan in June was found to have been upgraded back in Syria to carry chemical weapons and to fly without a pilot, the Yisrael Hayom daily reported on Tuesday."

Iran media report new cyberattack by Stuxnet worm
An Iranian semi-official news agency says there has been another cyberattack by the sophisticated computer worm Stuxnet, this time on the industries in the country's south.

Weapons of mass distraction
Female Russian technicians at Iranian nuclear plant violate dress code, have ‘corrupting’ influence on their coworkers

"A Tuesday report by the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Mahdi Mousavinejad, a representative of the southern Iranian port of Bushehr, where the plant is located, as saying violation of the dress code by the Russian workers has had a “corrupting and negative impact” on his constituency."

How soccer turned Russian Jews into Brits

In a new book, journalist Anthony Clavane explores how a single sport kickstarted a new, nuanced identity for an immigrant minority
"If you want to make the historical link between London’s Tottenham Hotspur soccer club and its famous Jewish following, a good place to start is Russia in 1881, the year Czar Alexander II was assassinated."

Sudanese minister says his country will not be ruled by "Jews and their conspirators"

During a national celebration, Sudanese Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoudh said that the conspiracy against Sudan with "Jews and conspirators" will not succeed in ruling the country.

Iran pays Russian women nuclear technicians to wear hijab

From Al Arabiya:

An Iranian lawmaker has complained that female Russian technicians working at the Bushehr nuclear power plant are not respecting the country’s dress code despite that they are being paid to wear the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab.

Bushehr’s Russian women technicians receive a “hijab payment” but “do not properly observe” what is required by their contracts, said Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Nejad, a member of parliament from Dashtestan in southern Bushehr Province, told Sepas News Agency.

He said despite that there is a “special gathering” for Russians in Bushehr but the female workers often appear in markets and streets without the hijab or with a “poor hijab.”

He urged Russian women to fulfill their “commitments” as written in their work contracts.

On the plus side, paying women to accept their second class status is somewhat better than arresting them for failing to do so.

The Arab woman and the rabbi

From Arutz-7:

The assistant director of the Kashrut department at the rabbinate of the northern Israeli city of Akko was attacked by Arabs on Monday evening.

The attack occurred as the man was standing and talking with the chief rabbi of the city of Akko, Rabbi Yosef Yashar.

"We concluded a working meeting this evening with the Kashrut department and as we stood near the building of the rabbinate, several young Arabs passed by, beat the assistant department head and fled," Rabbi Yashar recalled in a conversation with Arutz Sheva.

He said that he and the assistant director began chasing the attackers until "we encountered police officers nearby and they continued the chase and managed to arrest them."

Rabbi Yashar said that the attack is not a first, and that Akko's Jews have been suffering from violent attacks by local Arabs.

An Arab woman, Annette Haskia, was so upset over this attack that she met with the chief rabbi of Acre to express her disgust. They spoke in public; here is the audio and a rough partial transcript in English:

Anet Haskia: "..This is not my city [Acre] I don't live here but I have nephews and family [here] and by no means whatsoever do I want that they will start to think that the Jew is their enemy. Because he is not. I lived in the other side [the 'Jewish' side] for many years and that [perception] is wrong. I know that the Islamic movement is making inroads. It tempts the young. It buys [things] for them etc."

Rav Yashar: "I am happy to hear your words. There is a saying [in Judaism] 'words of truth are recognizable' (ניכרים דברי אמת). ... I think that there is a certain reality here that we encounter and it completely doesn't matter if we want it or not. There is what one wants and there is what one faces. It could be that according to what one wants, Jews want to live in a Jewish-only environment and the Arabs want to live in an Arab-only environment. That is what one may want. But the reality is not like that. The reality is that we all exist here. Muslims are here and Christians are here and Jews are here. Now, what should be done? To expel?"

Anet Haskia: "No"

Rav Yashar: "Should Jews expel the Arabs?"

Anet Haskia: "No. Definitely not."

Rav Yashae:"Should Arab expel the Jews?"

Anet Haskia: "Definitely not. Definitely not".

Rav Yashar: "It is not realistic. It is not human..."

Anet Haskia: "No. Right"

Rav Yashar: "And one should not even think in this way".

Anet Haskia: "Indeed. Indeed. I agree with you."

Rav Yashar: "We have here... We are all here and need to stay together and live together".

Anet Haskia: "Indeed".

Rav Yashar: "Of course, how do we live together [in peace]? Only... there is only one formula: when everyone recognizes and respects the customs of the other and the culture of the other and the religion of the other then ones can live together."

Anet Haskia: "Indeed".

Rav Yashar: "If I respect your religion and you respect my religion then it is fine".

Anet Haskia: "Indeed. It was like that".

Rav Yashar: "Now, I want to live my life..."

Anet Haskia: "Indeed".

Rav Yashar: "... that no one would interfere, exactly as you want to live your life."

Anet Haskia: "Sure. Indeed. Indeed"

Rav Yashar: "So why should we disturb each other?"

Anet Haskia: "Also, why live in fear?"

Rav Yashar: "And it also doesn't disturb me... Someone came and said that the muezzin [muslim call for praying] disturbs him. To tell you the truth, the muezzin does not disturb me. Really, it doesn't disturb me... When one makes it very loud then, obviously, it is deafening. But in principle - I respect [it]. For them, the Muslims, the muezzin is calling, so that's fine. I don't see anything bad..."

A comment from someone in the 'audience': "Yes, but I lived in Wolfson. They put a loudspeaker in Wolfson..."

Rav Yashar: "... I'm not talking about provocations. The religion [Islam] does not tell them to make a provocation. Does the Islam tell them to make a provocation? To put a loudspeaker there to annoy [people]? No. You can put loudspeakers. There are rules. There is religion. There is tradition. There are laws. There is Halacha. Now, as you say, we respect [the use of muezzin]. It does not disturb me. When I see the Arabs celebrating Ramadan should I come and disturb them deliberately? Absolutely not. I respect them and I also come to them. I come to respect them. And I want that they will also respect me, let me celebrate my festive days. Now, if I cannot celebrate my festive days we have a problem here and you are right... I fully believe that those who behind this [the recent attack on the Acre rabbinate by Arabs] are [motivated by] political factors..."

Anet Haskia: "Yes".

Rav Yashar: "... They want to gain a political gain of this. I don't believe that the residents... the ordinary Arab resident would do something like that. What one thinks it doesn't matter. An Arab is allowed to think that he would prefer to be here without Jews. To think so is fine. But you cannot do it. You would not expel the Jews from here..."

Anet Haskia: "No".

Rav Yashar: "...And the Jews would not expel the Arab from here. It would not help. We will live here together..."

Anet Haskia: "Indeed. There is the reality"...

(h/t and translation O)

Suha again says the intifada was pre-planned by Arafat

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Suha Arafat, widow of Yasser Arafat, which aired on Dubai TV on December 16, 2012:

Suha Arafat: Yasser Arafat had made a decision to launch the Intifada. Immediately after the failure of the Camp David [negotiations], I met him in Paris upon his return, in July 2001 [sic]. Camp David has failed, and he said to me: “You should remain in Paris.” I asked him why, and he said: “Because I am going to start an Intifada. They want me to betray the Palestinian cause. They want me to give up on our principles, and I will not do so. I do not want Zahwa’s friends in the future to say that Yasser Arafat abandoned the Palestinian cause and principles. I might be martyred, but I shall bequeath our historical heritage to Zahwa and to the children of Palestine.”

She has said this before:

As have prominent PLO officials:

Palestinian Media Watch has an entire list of such statements.

There is a pattern of Israel's enemies attacking Israel in order to make political gains - effectively expecting to be rewarded for aggression. World leaders, and way too many Israelis, are eager to let them get away with it.

Hamas bans "Zionist media" from Gaza

From Reuters:

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday forbade local journalists from working with "hostile" Israeli media, it said in a statement.

The weekly cabinet meeting decided "to ban work with all Zionist media and journalists," and to declare Israeli media "hostile."

The statement mentioned Israeli media and television stations which operate in Gaza through local Palestinian production companies, working with Palestinian journalists.

This was the first time Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2006, has issued such an edict, the statement noted.

It will be interesting to see if Reporters Without Borders or the International Federation of Journalists condemn this.

Muslims in India try to take over "Jewish" Masonic temple

From Two Circles:

Shia community has once again raised the demand for handing over the Free Masonic Temple situated at Ram Tirath Marg in Hazratganj at Lucknow. A signature campaign has begun by Shia-e-Haider-e-Karrar for staking claim over the campus.

The association aims to get over two lakhs signatures in support of their campaign. “We will hand over the signatures and memorandum to the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Shia clerics have also extended their support to our movement,” said Ehtisham Haider, an office bearer of the association.

Earlier on 12 September 2011, hundreds of of Shia Muslims led by Imam-e-Juma Maulana Kalbe Jawwad had staged protest to stake claim over Free Masonic Temple. Shias claimed it be to a mausoleum of their Imams and presently being illegally occupied by Jews.

As per the claims of the Shia Muslims, the Free Masonic Temple is waqf property registered by the name Waqf Karbala Moatmuddaula with Shia Waqf Board. It was constructed by King Naseeuruddin Haider in 1815. It came under the possession of East India Company in February 1856 and they handed it over to Jews."

According to them, Britishers confiscated the properties of Shias for their participation in independence struggle.

At the earlier rally in September 2011:

Regarding the Free Masonic Temple, they claimed that the organisation is anti national and is engaged in subversive activities. "There should be a vigil over their activities. We do not want such organisations to stay in India. However, if the government is desirous they can hand over another suitable location to them," said Jawwad.

Meanwhile, the local residents surrounding the complex remained apprehensive due to heavy police force and agitating Muslims. Many of them climbed on their rooftops and locked their doors.

It appears that Muslims in India believe that they have the right to any land they want through intimidation and false legal claims when in fact their only claim is based on a perceived loss of honor. The idea that "Jews" control an area that they regard as theirs is simply unacceptable.

But I'm sure that's only in India.

Somehow, zillions of reporters in Bethlehem missed this story

From Holy Land Missions, December 21:

Pressure from the local community is forcing the hands of the Bethlehem municipality to take down a large Christmas billboard sign that has Jesus on it.

"€œIn the birthplace of Christianity, we have seen over the years that the Christmas holiday has been reduced to snowmen and bells,€" said Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions; the ministry behind putting the 1200 square foot sign up. He added, "€œThe essential message of the holiday season has been taken away for fear of what the dominant factors in Bethlehem would say."

Vandals had cut the electric cable surrounding the sign to ensure that it would not be lit up during the night. Barraged with phone calls from the local community, the municipality informed Pastor Khoury that many are campaigning asking us to take down the sign. ...The billboard sign is located at Manger Square with the slogan "Jesus born to die and rose again. Invite him into your heart so you might live - Merry Christmas"€ has caused some people to come out of their cars and take pictures.

Out of fear of repercussions, no one is willing to sell electricity access to the billboard. So Pastor Khoury has been going out with a portable generator and several high beam spotlights and lighting the sign up himself. Anticipating that the sign might be coming down any time, Khoury quickly did one last film next to the billboard sign.

How did every single reporter in Bethlehem miss a story about a pastor who was trying to put up a billboard with a Christian message?

It has an attractive protagonist, who speaks English well. It is an underdog story. It is about freedom of religion. It has the irony of Jesus being absent from Bethlehem. This story is made for TV and print media.

There must be a reason why the reporters ignored this story. Perhaps because of the types of people who are against the sign? Pastor Khoury doesn't identify them, so it is unclear who they are. All we know is that they are dominant in Bethlehem (so they can't be Christians), that they are from the local community (so they can't be Jews) that they are threatening those who support the message with violence (so they can't be Quakers,) and that reporters are reluctant to report when these people are acting against freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

This is a tough one.

(h/t Petra)

Saudi network says enemy sheikh needs a psychiatrist

From Al Arabiya:

The Middle East Broadcasting Center’s children entertainment channel MBC3 hit back on Tuesday at a prominent Saudi preacher who urged parents to prevent their kids from watching the channel because its content promotes “atheism and corruption” according to him.

Sheikh Mohammad al-Arifi, known for his controversial statements, wrote in a twitter post, "It is prohibited to enable your child to watch MBC3 children; its scenes are full of ideas of atheism and corruption; remove it now; your child is in your care.”

MBC3 issued a statement describing Arifi's twitter post as "tendentious and far from reality altogether."

The MBC3 statement pointed to a previous seen as preposterous religious edict by Arifi in which he said a daughter should not sit alone with her father for fear that she might tempt him into lusting after her.

"Words cannot describe such mentality and such rationale, especially that it is coming from individuals who should be at the psychiatric hospital to treat abnormal thinking instead of issuing fatwas,” the MBC statement added.

Sheikh Arifi had called on his followers on Twitter to boycott advertisers on MBC channels. Ironically as some commentators may see, the sheikh presents a religious show on another Arab television network which has a similar grid of programming and Western content.

"Mitzvah Day" in Detroit - for Jews and Muslims

Transcript from NPR:

Now we turn to a community in Detroit that's unexpectedly playing Santa Claus today. You may have heard the joke that Chinese restaurants get packed on Christmas Day with all the people who don't observe the holiday. About 20 years ago, the Detroit Jewish Community Relations Council decided to forgo the chop suey and instead spend the day serving the city.
The council now runs an annual Mitzvah Day that brings out close to a thousand people - mostly Jewish, but other faiths participate, as well. And they volunteer at homeless shelters, group homes and nearly 40 other projects around the city. We wanted to hear more about this service event, so we've called on two faith leaders in the Detroit area who've been involved for a number of years.
Micki Grossman is the co-chair of Mitzvah Day, which she's participated in for the past two decades. And Dr. Muzammil Ahmed has organized members of his Muslim community to pitch in, as well. He's head of the Michigan Muslim Community Council. Welcome to you both.
MICKI GROSSMAN: Thank you.
MUZAMMIL AHMED: Thank you.
HEADLEE: Micki, let's begin with you. We know about the Chinese food joke. That's been a long-running bit of humor. But how did this begin with the Jewish Community Relations Council? Why did the group decide to spend Christmas Day differently?
GROSSMAN: Well, first of all, I have to tell you that traditionally, in the Jewish community, synagogues and temples had independently picked up programs and would go into a soup kitchen and so forth on Christmas Day. They would have their men's club and sisterhood do something like that.
So there were a few congregations that did it. About 20-some years ago, it actually was a group of women who - Jewish women, who did volunteer work during the year who sat around and discussed the fact that: Why don't we do something big on Christmas Day? And see what we could do about it. And so we started out that way.
I didn't originate the plan, but I was on that steering committee. And we had about 200 volunteers that year, men and women.
HEADLEE: Well, for those of our listeners who are not Jewish, explain what mitzvah means and how a mitzvah is part of the Jewish faith.
GROSSMAN: Mitzvah is a commandment. It's become translated as a good deed, but it actually is a requirement that we have to do something to repair the world, to make life better for other people. Whether they're homeless, hungry, sick or poor, that's just one of the tenets of our faith. And so we use the word mitzvah. And so it became Mitzvah Day that we're going out and doing something good, and it's also a good way to spend the day or part of the day.
HEADLEE: So, Dr. Ahmed, does the Muslim faith have something like mitzvah? Is that also a commandment for Muslims?
AHMED: It certainly is. One of our five pillars of faith is giving zakat, which is charity. And as part of charity, we consider performing charitable acts and deeds something that is highly encouraged and very much an example that we want to set for ourselves and our families. So doing service work, doing small things and large things for the community is something that is an integral part of our faith.
HEADLEE: But why Christmas? How did the people in your Muslim community get involved, and why choose Christmas as the day for serving the community?
AHMED: That's an excellent question, and in some way, I think we're following the footsteps of the Jewish community in that many Muslims that have been in America have been doing a lot of charitable activities and functions over the years, but on Christmas Day, we don't necessarily celebrate Christmas, but we did want to recognize and respect the people around us that do have wonderful experiences on this day. And we wanted to share in that experience somehow, yet maintain our own independence and identity. And the Mitzvah Day seemed like a wonderful way to give back to the community at a time when they need it. And the community has always stepped forward to stand up for the Muslim community in recent months with different things that have happened. We thought this would be a great time to be able to give back.
GROSSMAN: Could I jump in for just a minute? Because...
HEADLEE: Of course.
GROSSMAN: ...about three years ago, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council was having lunch with two leaders from the Muslim community, and they were just sitting around talking. And somehow, Robert told them about preparing for Mitzvah Day, and he had said, you know, this is something for us to do, because we don't celebrate Christmas the same way.
And so that's how it evolved. And it's ongoing. I mean, we have many partnerships that the Jewish and Muslim community do together, but this has become a spectacular event.