ANDREA STINSON OLIVER

jews d

in
the

Dr. Muzammil Ahmed,
chair of the Michigan
Muslim Community
Council; Muslim-Jewish
Advisory Council
Co-Chairs Farooq
Kathwari and Stanley
Bergman; and JCRC/
AJC Detroit President
Alicia Chandler

Advocacy Effort

Leaders of national Muslim-Jewish council
stop in Detroit to engage the community.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

S

tanley Bergman, the Jewish
CEO of Henry Schein, a lead-
ing supplier for medical and
dental offices, and Farooq Kathwari,
the Muslim CEO of furniture maker
Ethan Allen, are national busi-
ness leaders. Last year, they joined
together to counteract hate speech
and crimes toward Muslims and
Jews in the U.S.
The two visited Detroit on Oct.
3 to talk about their newly created
national Muslim-Jewish Advisory
Council and met with Muslim,
Jewish and other Detroit-area lead-
ers during a town hall in Dearborn.
This was the council’s sixth face-
to-face meeting since its founding
last November.
Last year, Bergman and Kathwari
agreed to lead the council, a
national nonpartisan, public-private
advocacy organization convened
by the American Jewish Committee
and the Islamic Society of North
America. Its mission is to advocate
for religious tolerance and respect,
and to publicly recognize the contri-
butions of all religions.
Kathwari, originally from
Kashmir, reported that the coun-
cil has held successful meetings
with representatives from the
Department of Justice and Congress
as well as Muslim, Jewish and other
leaders. “It has been well-received
across the country,” he said.
Council co-chair Bergman emi-
grated to the U.S. from South Africa,
where his parents fled to escape
Nazi Germany. “There are more
hate crimes against Jews than other
groups in the U.S., but the rate is

26

November 2 • 2017

jn

increasing fastest for Muslims,” he
said. “It is our job to make sure that
people are not fearful.”
“Silence is not an option,”
Kathwari commented.
The council is advocating for pas-
sage of the bipartisan “Protecting
Religiously Affiliated Institutions
Act of 2017” that would include reli-
giously affiliated schools and com-
munity centers in the Church Arson
Prevention Act of 1996. This law
makes it a federal crime to damage
a house of worship.
Daniel Lemisch, acting U.S.
attorney for the eastern district of
Michigan, who is Jewish, described
the increasing incidence of hate
speech and discriminatory actions.
“Hate is becoming mainstream.
Hate is broadcast with the speed
of light. Our job is to make sure
that laws are applied equally,” he
explained.
Lemisch referred to two recent
cases in which the federal govern-
ment successfully sued local gov-
ernments that were trying to thwart
the construction of a mosque and
Muslim school.

BUILDING TRUST

Alicia Chandler, president of
Detroit’s Jewish Community
Relations Council/AJC, spoke about
the organization’s progress in build-
ing trust and connections with the
local Muslim community. When
the federal government issued its
initial ban on immigration from
Muslim countries, Jews supported
the local Muslim community
in its protest, she said. When

bomb threats were called into
the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield, she noted that a
group of Muslim leaders took out
a Jewish News ad in support of the
Jewish community.
According to David Kurzmann,
JCRC/AJC executive director, the
national Muslim-Jewish Advisory
Council visited Detroit because of
its large Muslim community and
the successful partnership efforts
between local Muslim and Jewish
organizations over several years.
Going forward, he said the coun-
cil will work to engage additional
communities, establish regional
councils and highlight the contribu-
tions of Muslim and Jewish groups
in American society. On the legisla-
tive front, the Council is seeking
an additional legislator to sponsor
the Protecting Religiously Affiliated
Institutions Act of 2017.
Locally, the JCRC/AJC of Detroit
will continue its expanding Mitzvah
Day volunteer program with the
Muslim community, according to
Kurzmann.
In addition, the JCRC/AJC Shared
Dialogue program in which two
Wayne State University professors
— one Muslim and one Jewish —
jointly addressed audiences in three
Detroit-area locations, is likely to be
repeated early in 2018. Professors
Howard Lupavitch and Saeed
Khan discussed “A Shared Future:
American Xenophobia — Anti-
Semitism and Islamaphobia.” •

For more about the Muslim-Jewish Advisory
Council, visit muslimjewishadvocacy.org.

‘Choices’
At JVS

JVS has expanded services
that will enhance the types of
community-based activities
available for people with dis-
abilities, offering them more
options. Known as “Choices,”
the expanded array of services
offers individuals the option
to work or volunteer in their
community, participate in field
trips and cultural outings or
engage in artistic expression,
music therapy, yoga and other
enriching activities.
The changes come amid
recent trends and state and
federal guidelines that advo-
cate for greater community
inclusion for people with dis-
abilities. Governmental fund-
ing priorities are also shifting
in favor of programs that pro-
mote more access to the com-
munity.
“JVS is committed to pro-
viding opportunities for
individuals to have a greater
sense of personal value, com-
munity and choice in how they
want to live their lives,” said
JVS President and CEO Leah
Rosenbaum. “In addition to
providing staff support to help
some people maintain jobs,
others will be supported in
finding volunteer work at local
nonprofits such as organic
farms or food pantries to help
build their skills. Based on
individual desires and goals,
others may be supported in
visiting local areas of interest
or participating in stimulating
activities to build skills and
engagement in their commu-
nity.”
With increased focus on
expanding activities available
in the community, JVS will
phase out its work center in
Southfield. The center cur-
rently serves approximately
90 people with developmental
disabilities who will be offered
expanded choices on how to
enhance their lives. JVS navi-
gators will work closely with
individuals and their family
members to educate them
on the new choices available
and which options meet their
interests, desires and needs. •

