The Muslim-Jewish Volunteer Initiative, a student organization founded last year that uses community service to bridge the gap between the two groups on campus, kicked off their semester with a meeting at Der Rathskeller Wednesday.
Co-presidents Jeremy Levinger and Lamin Manneh explained at the meeting that they hope to create a safe space for connection between students of both religions, where each can learn about the other’s perspectives.
“You always hear that Muslims hate Jews, or that Jews hate Muslims. And this relationship has been defined by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,“ Manneh said.
“We are trying to get beyond this— we want to form a relationship between these groups based on something other than conflict. Service can bring us together.”
Islam and Judaism share a similar philosophy of charity, called tzedekah in Hebrew, or zadakat in Arabic.
“It’s charity from the heart,” said Levinger. “You give because you really do care, not out of obligation or fear. That’s what it means in Hebrew, and it means exactly the same thing in Arabic.”
The group will resume volunteer work at Savory Sunday this semester, an organization that cooks and serves meals for the homeless, and may also begin working with the Boys and Girls Club.
In previous semesters, efforts to bring the groups together have included trips to the mosque for Jewish students or the synagogue for Muslim students, in an event called the Day of Prayer. The group will also continue to host Coexistence Dinners, with ethnic food and after-dinner dialogues.
Levinger, Manneh, and Ammad Amim, another member, believe that the connections and friendships built through cooperation are the only ways to solve the larger conflicts between Muslims and Jews.
“In the long run, we try to create an atmosphere where we can agree to disagree,” Levinger said.
Amim agreed. “That’s the only way for us to move forward,” he said.
