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More than 100 people gathered at Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening for the fifth annual Interfaith Iftar organized by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC) in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
Other co-organizers of this year’s event included Masjid Muhammad: The Nation’s Mosque, Muslim Women Speakers, and the Embassy of Israel to the United States, and it was sponsored by the House of Ruach Foundation.
The Ramadan celebration included speeches and a Muslim prayer, before a festive fast-breaking meal.
In her remarks, AMMWEC President Anila Ali emphasized the importance of interfaith solidarity, particularly between Muslims and Jews.
“What starts with antisemitism against Jews never ends there,” she observed.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog also highlighted the historical ties linking Muslims and Jews, and he lamented Hamas’ “hijacking” of Islam with its crimes against humanity on October 7th.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Ambassador to the United States Sven Alkalaj recalled Muslims who protected Jews in what was then Axis-occupied Yugoslavia during the Holocaust, and told the story of the Sarajevo Haggadah that was hidden in a mosque to save it from the Nazis.
Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the U.S. Department of State Aaron Keyak also spoke to the importance of religious unity, and Congregation B’nai Tzedek Senior Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, a CAM Advisory Board member, talked about how Israel provided a safe haven to Muslim refugees during the Bosnian War in the 1990s.
