I had three conversations over the past two weeks that I have spent some time thinking about. The first was via Facebook messenger, the second was on the phone, and the third was via Zoom. The first one left me a bit discouraged, the second one tested my self-control, but the third one left me uplifted and hopeful.

In my first conversation, I was engaging (privately, as there is little to nothing constructive about having a public flame war on social media) with someone who took issue with the fact that Federation is partnering with Orangetown Jewish Center this coming Monday to bring three speakers from the Muslim Womens Speakers Bureau, engaging in dialogue and sharing their allyship with our community. This individual felt it was a political act to do so, to bow in fealty to some kind of liberal agenda and to be oblivious of the threat of political Islamism (that is, organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood). It apparently wasn’t relevant in the conversation that our guests are as far from and as maligned by such organizations as is our community. And it certainly wasn’t relevant to my interlocutor that the only agenda I bring to my role and the purpose of the Federation is the security, integrity, growth, pride and identity of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

I know what we at Federation have been engaged in since I began here in 2021, and especially what we’ve been doing since October 7th. The self-sacrifice, stress, and tireless work of our staff, our board, and our volunteers has inspired and strengthened me. Our successes raising emergency funds for Israel and engaging nearly 20,000 community members in our work and programming for the Jewish people and Israel prove where our agenda lies. Though I wasn’t pleased with the tenor of the conversation, I offered to engage personally with this obviously passionate (but also somewhat uninformed of our work) individual to see how they could channel that passion into constructive advocacy with us.

In my second brief conversation, suffice it to say that I was dismayed by a voice from a different angle - someone who should have been - and was - well informed about what we do and how we do it. It seemed to me that because we - or I - didn’t conform to their perspective, they debased and devalued the work and contributions I described above. You can imagine how that ‘impressed’ me, as someone who has dedicated his life to Israel and the Jewish people. Nevertheless, as a community leader, I don’t have the luxury of being governed by insulting outbursts, so I restrained myself and terminated the discussion.

In my third conversation, I spoke with two of the wonderful women of the Muslim Womens Speakers Bureau who we will be hosting on Monday night. They shared their deep respect, admiration, allyship and love for the Jewish people, and their support for Israel, which they have visited post October 7th. They talked about the challenges and even dangers of taking the courageous positions they stand for publicly. And they conveyed their eagerness to meet and engage with our community. It was a conversation that ignited hope and even a bit of optimism. We do have friends and allies in civil society beyond the Jewish community here in Rockland, people like Imam Syed Ali from the Darul Ehsan Masjid, in Suffern, Human Rights Commissioner Spencer Chiimbwe, and Rockland County Pride Center Executive Director Brooke Malloy. I’ve engaged in critical conversations with all of them in recent weeks. We have many values and needs and concerns in common, and some things we need to continue to discuss. But we have mutual respect and patience for each other. That is what friendship is about. Fostering that is what dialogue can achieve.

We hope to see you on Monday. You can register here.

Have a wonderful Shabbat.