In the News

Boston Bombers Do Not Represent American Muslims

Posted on April 23, 2013

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali speak before the “Today I am a Muslim Too” Rally at Time Square in 2011. In the wake of the horrific attacks in Boston last week perpetrated by two ethnic Chechen brothers who appear to have been motivated by extreme Islamist ideology, Continue Reading »

Obama’s Seder And Seeing The Other

Posted on March 28, 2013

 The Times of Israel By Rabbi Marc Schneier Last Monday evening, President Barack Obama gathered with his family, members of his staff and other guests, many of them Jews and African-Americans, to hold his fifth seder since coming to the White House. Many Israelis, who until the President’s tour de force visit to Israel the Continue Reading »

White House Seder Continuation of Chicago Tradition

Posted on March 26, 2013

The Jerusalem Post By Sam Sokol US president, family, friends celebrate Passover dinner with Seder, the “continuation of a longstanding custom” for the Obamas. The White House tradition of holding a Passover Seder, started by US President Barack Obama in 2009 during his first term, is the continuation of a longstanding Obama family tradition, according Continue Reading »

Passover: A Timeless Message for African Americans and Jews

Posted on March 21, 2013

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier and Russell Simmons March 21, 2013 Russell Simmons visits the Western Wall for the first time with Rabbi Marc Schneier when the two were in Israel in June 2012 to deliver Keynotes at the Israeli Presidential Conference. Photo Credit: Sasson Tiram At the Passover Seder, when we recall the Continue Reading »

Peace at the Penthouse

Posted on March 19, 2013

The Wall Street Journal By Adrienne Gaffney If the ultimate currency in Manhattan is real estate, one can do no better in voicing their philanthropic devotion than offering up their home in support of the cause. Russell Simmons did just that on Monday night, hosting 250 guests in his downtown penthouse for a reception supporting Continue Reading »

Martin Luther King Jr., Israel and Obama

Posted on March 19, 2013

The Jerusalem Post By Marc Schneier There is no disputing the historic significance of President Barack Obama’s state visit to Israel. There is no disputing the historic significance of President Barack Obama’s state visit to Israel; his first since he was elected our nation’s chief executive just over four years ago. During his first term, Continue Reading »

Hannity Escalates Attack on Ellison

Posted on February 28, 2013

Politico By Kevin Cirilli Sean Hannity unleashed on Rep. Keith Ellison on Thursday night after a heated interview earlier in the week, charging that Ellison spent years spewing hateful rhetoric that the Fox News host suggested was as extreme as the Ku Klux Klan. On his program, Hannity linked Ellison to Nation of Islam leader Continue Reading »

The Muslim-Jewish side of Russell Simmons

Posted on February 27, 2013

Jewish Journal of Greater LA By Ryan Torok Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is bringing his passion for Jewish-Muslim relations to the West Coast. Simmons, who co-founded record label Def Jam at the age of 26 and helped jumpstart the careers of the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J, relocated from New York to Los Angeles Continue Reading »

Congressional Hearings on Rising Anti-Semitism Must Acknowledge the Muslim Leaders Willing to Condemn It

Posted on February 26, 2013

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold hearings today on the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. In a pre-hearing interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, sub-committee chairman, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), said that anti-Semitism “is getting demonstrably worse all over the world, but especially Europe … The Middle Continue Reading »

Embrace moderate Muslim leaders

Posted on February 23, 2013

Ynet By Rabbi Marc Schneier Op-ed: Prominent rabbi says increased willingness of European Muslim leaders to denounce attacks on Jews mustn’t be overlooked The delegates to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations deserve our united applause for travelling to Paris last week to express solidarity with French Jewry, which has endured a Continue Reading »

Jewish, Muslim Religious Leaders meet in Germany

Posted on February 16, 2013

The Jerusalem Post By Sam Sokol Dozens of imams hold Holocaust commemoration in Drancy, where Jews in 1942 were confined before being transported to extermination camps. Leaders of Jewish and Muslim communities in Germany met in Cologne on Tuesday in an effort by the New York based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding to “create long-term strategies Continue Reading »

Ed Koch: An Inspiration for Black-Jewish Relations

Posted on February 4, 2013

Huffington Post By Rabbi Marc Schneier New York City and the entire nation are mourning the passing of former Mayor Ed Koch, a larger-than-life figure who came to personify the city he ran with verve and ebullience for three full terms from 1978-1989. Coming to office at a time when New York was all but Continue Reading »