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A delegation of seven Muslim leaders from the United States visited Israel in recent days to demonstrate solidarity with the Jewish people following the October 7th attack and amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
The delegation was led by Anila Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC), and other participants included AMMWEC Advisory Board members Soraya Deen, Farhana Khorshed, Zeba Zebunessa, Simran Singh Stulpnagel, and Kelly Herman, as well as journalist Wajid Ali Jafri.
The trip was organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). AMMWEC is a CAM partner organization, and joint initiatives have included interfaith iftar celebrations held during Ramadan the past four years.
In Israel, the AMMWEC delegation crisscrossed the country, touring Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Sderot, Ofakim, Rahat, Acre, and Haifa, among other cities, and meeting with Israelis of all backgrounds who have been impacted by the violence of the past two months, in addition to government officials and community leaders.
Meirav Barakai – she lost three members of her family.
Her mother and two nephews.
One nephew was killed and the other taken hostage.
Her mother asked her husband and grandson (Meirav’s nephew) to hide.
She then valiantly, waited for her murderers…..
When they forced… pic.twitter.com/PMgBiXolSC— Soraya M. Deen, MA (@SoooMD) December 2, 2023
This is the home of an elderly woman, who gave cookies to the #Hamas terrorists & then after many hours of crossfire, she was rescued. There is blood plastered on the walls. Many of the #Israelis living in this town are #Arab #Moroccans & Egyptians.
I embraced them, for them &… pic.twitter.com/HA10hNBMWq— Anila Ali (@anilaali) December 1, 2023
“This is the real Israel that you never hear about on the news,” Ali told JNS. “This is the Israel nobody knows about.”
“As Muslim Americans we are in a unique position to show others a mirror,” she added. “The evil is [among] us who do not allow our children to live in peace and want perpetual war.”
In Jerusalem, the delegation was greeted at the President’s Residence by First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog.
Today, Anila Ali (@anilaali), my Muslim sister, and a delegation of seven Muslim leaders from the US joined us in Israel to express their support. They unequivocally condemn the actions of Hamas on October 7. These Muslim leaders make it clear: Hamas does not represent Islam.
We… pic.twitter.com/8cWmoVJD2E
— Sacha Roytman (@SachaRoytman) December 3, 2023
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Ali asked, “How can one not cry over the girls who were raped by the terrorists?”
“It’s sad that the world avoided acknowledging that women were raped by Hamas,” she continued. “And why? Because they’re Israelis. We heard what Hamas did, we saw the pictures of girls being taken to Gaza, how they dragged one of the young women away, and to think about what they did to her and to others…the world demonizes Israel. I won’t accept women’s rights activists standing on the sidelines when it happens to Israel. It makes me want to fight for the truth even more.”
#Muslim women leaders from 🇺🇸 stand with women of #Israel. We call ourselves women right’s activists, but when it came to #Israeli women murdered by #Hamas, there was silence. Why? @CFWIJ @UN_Women @DemWomenCaucus @RepublicanWomb @WhiteHouseGPC #Gaza @CombatASemitism… pic.twitter.com/Mc8r5CyGtG
— Anila Ali (@anilaali) December 4, 2023
The delegation members had to seek shelter twice during their trip, once in Sderot and once in Tel Aviv, when rocket warning sirens sounded.
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman stated, “Especially now, as the Jewish people are still reeling from the horrific October 7th attack, it is so welcome to see brave Muslim leaders come to Israel and stand with us. I believe that religion has the power to be a force for good and unity, and this trip is proof of that.”
Ali spoke last month to a crowd of nearly 300,000 people at the “March for Israel” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. “I stand before you as a friend of the Jewish people,” she said in her remarks. “I am here to affirm to my Abrahamic brothers and sisters that you are not alone.”
