Muslim Deaths Create a Bond With Local Jews

Events in what used to be Yugoslavia have brought together representatives of the Los Angeles Muslim and Jewish communities in what might have seemed an unlikely partnership only months ago.

But now, amid reports of killings, deportations and concentration camps in Serbian-claimed areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the two groups have found a common cause in their concern for Muslims threatened today and the memory of Jews killed by the Nazis half a century ago.

“This is not something Muslims and Jews can afford to overlook, when we can seize the opportunity of eliminating the horrible idea of eradicating Muslims or Jews from any particular part of the world,” said Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an organization that works with local mosques.

“(When) we saw the words ethnic cleansing , from our perspective in the Jewish community we know what it really connotes, and we have an obligation, whether it’s happening to us or anybody else, not to remain silent,” said Mark Spiegel, chairman of the Jewish Community Relations Committee.

The committee is an arm of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, an umbrella group that represents many in the Jewish community of about 600,000. The Muslim population has been estimated at 200,000.

The two groups had a joint press conference and a rally at the Federal Building in August and sponsored an appearance on Oct. 9 at USC by George Kenney, the former acting chief of Yugoslavian affairs at the State Department.

Kenney resigned Aug. 25 to protest the lack of American action in Bosnia-Herzegovina, warning that the conflict is likely to spread through the Balkans and draw in Islamic nations, ultimately forcing the West to intervene at a much higher cost.

“This is a disaster of truly epic proportions. It’s the kind of thing the international community must not tolerate,” Kenney said in an interview.

Kenney’s bluntness in blaming Serbs for the violence in Bosnia drew sharp rejoinders from several Serbs in the audience, underlining the passions on all sides. But Al-Marayati described the Jewish-Muslim effort as a catalyst for dialogue that may help break through ancient barriers.

“We need not get sucked into historical gridlock,” he said. “People get locked into what happened in 1539 and the fact is, people are getting locked up in concentratrion camps today and we should do anything in our power to change a policy of inaction to the policy of liberation.”

Religious leaders have also exchanged visits between mosques and synagogues, part of a dialogue sponsored by the Inter-Religious Council of Southern California, which has also sponsored a teach-in on Yugoslavia.

That event, held at a Catholic church in Beverly Hills, drew about 350 people and was “a little emotional,” said Harvey Fields, president of the group and senior rabbi at Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

“We listened to the Serbian point of view, and those who were there from the Muslim point of view were a bit concerned,” Fields said.

“It may be surprising to some people that there is a great deal of work going on in the inter-religious community,” he said. “But by and large the leadership of the Islamic and Jewish communities realize we’re living in America and we’ve got issues in common--perhaps more of them that bring us together than divide us.”

Indeed, both Spiegel and Al-Marayati cited the so-called Golden Age of Spain, when a Jewish minority flourished under Muslim rule before the triumph of a Christian monarchy in the 15th Century.

“Muslims are found in many places that are not in the Middle East, and in the last 1,400 years there have been times when Jewish and Muslim communities have gotten along extremely well,” Spiegel said.

“Theologically, there’s no reason not to work together,” Al-Marayati added.

While no additional joint activities have been planned, leaders of the two groups will stay in touch, they said.

Jewish and Muslim groups have also worked together in communities as disparate as Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Scranton, Pa., and Des Moines, Iowa, said Abraham J. Bayer, director of international concerns for the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, based in New York.

“Although it is unusual for the Jewish community to be so very much engaged with Muslims, (the crisis) nonetheless goes beyond any particular group,” he said.

The dialogue was also welcomed by Maher Hathout, chairman of the Islamic Center of Southern California.

But he said the impact has been limited.

“We impressed ourselves more than anybody else,” said Hathout, a Duarte physician who favors the imposition of a no-fly, no-fire zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“Although the two groups have found common ground in Los Angeles, we did not materialize enough pressure here to change the sad events,” he said. “Still the loudest voice is that of the gun.”