Our story is a true testament to our society’s urgent need to stand up and stem the rising tide of hate, and the power of harnessing collective passion to push back with action and love. In 2014, a small group of Muslim and Jewish New Yorkers came together as a Meetup group. We had nothing in common besides the desire to learn and share traditions, meals, and our stories. The initial diverse group was comprised of new immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, along with children and grandchildren of immigrants. We were artists, teachers, techies, students, activists, performers, and more. By late 2014, our new group was just casual, averaging a dozen participants at our activities. We rapidly realized that what we share is so much more powerful than what divides us.

Soon after, during Ramadan 2015, we held our first Iftar in the largest synagogue in NYC. To our surprise, almost 150 people attended! Five years later, Iftar-in-a-Synagogue is one of our signature programs and always sells out. We’ve inspired many similar iftars held around the city. That pivotal moment galvanized us to realize how acute the need is for interfaith programs that bring diverse communities together against hate in an inclusive, non judgemental environment. In the years following this first iftar, our community was nurtured and enhanced by the support of lay leaders who believed deeply in our mission, but had never previously taken action from an interfaith or anti-hate lens. It turns out that our little group had the potential to not only change our local city, but the national conversation on the importance of faith-based organizing in the movement against hate and injustice.

On December 31, 2015 the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee became a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. Since then, over 5,000 New Yorkers have participated in our programs and we’re now expanding into other cities.