Jews in Israel are helping underprivileged Muslims prepare for the end of Ramadan.
The same Jewish group who gave food assistance to underprivileged Jews during Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot is now turning to help an unlikely crowd: underprivileged Muslims who will celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan next week with the holiday of Eid Al-Fiter.
On Tuesday, 150 members of the Jewish Reform Movement, in cooperation with the “Kavod Foundation” gathered in Jerusalem to assist with the packing of canned goods and other provisions to be delivered during the holiday to needy Muslims in East Jerusalem.
Yoav Shprank, a member of the organization told Ynet that the Kavod Foundation is working all year to help Jews, Christians, and Muslims during the holidays. As an example, the Reform movement donated 2,000 food boxes to the welfare offices, and they are also planning a substantial food donation in preparation for Christmas.
In addition to East Jerusalem, the food will be distributed to Muslim communities in Jaffa, Haifa, and Shfaram, and will total 250 packages worth NIS 100 (roughly USD 23) each.
Yeah, you also won’t ever see quotes like this on the Jew-hating sites, like Indymedia and its ilk:
The youth movement which participated in the drive is a part of the “Kol Haneshama” community who are active in the German Settlement and Bakaa neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Rabbi Gilad Kariv of the Reform movement explains that “one of the most important values of the movement is equality, and so they work in all sectors of Israeli society. Just as we have food drives before Rosh Hashanah and Passover, it is important for us as Jews to help non-Jewish families in Israel celebrate their holidays with respect.”
Rabbi Kariv also adds that he believes the fact a Muslim family will receive the packages from religious Jewish families in Israel “will contribute to change the atmosphere in Israel.”
But you will always see the mainstream media highlight something that makes it look like Jews hate Muslims—like that setup during the war where they got a bunch of children to write messages to Nasrallah on some missiles, then used that to flog Israel.
This is the true face of Judaism. We are taught that it is our obligation to help those less fortunate than we, and it is only liars who say we don’t include non-Jews in our charitable efforts.
Spread this story far and wide to counter the lies.
Thank you for posting this, Meryl.
A minor point, though I should perhaps tell the translator for Ynetnews: in English the neighborhood is called the German Colony, not the German Settlement (ha-moshava ha-germanit in Hebrew). It’s a beautiful neighborhood with lots of (fairly recent) history.
May God bless those who help the poor!
It’s the true difference between Us and Them.
Thanks Meryl for posting this article.
Anyone who wants to find out more about the work of the Israel Religious Action Center can contact me directly at joel at irac dot org or sign up for our e-newsletters at the website attached www dot rac dot org slash irac
thanks
Joel Katz
IRAC Overseas Relations