City Politicos Celebrate
Launch of NewGround
A
group photograph taken at the inauguration ceremony
of NewGround |
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
celebrated the launch of NewGround, a joint undertaking of
the Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) and the Muslim Public
Affairs Council (MPAC), at City Hall on March 8. The group
will bring together Jews and Muslims in a community-building
dialogue on issues ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
to immigration to homelessness.
"This is the city where we come together from every corner
of the earth," Villaraigosa said. "If there is one
place in the world where Muslims and Jews should be able to
forge common ground, it is here."
City Council President Eric Garcetti hailed the group as leaders
of the future.
"The stakes are high because the face of Los Angeles
is the face of the world. The world is watching us,"
said Garcetti, who hosted the gathering in the Tom Bradley
Tower Room.
"We're going from old ground in the Middle East, where
we're shackled by fear and bloodshed, to new ground in Los
Angeles, where we can develop mutual respect and mutual trust
and hopefully this project will blossom forth with the rays
of hope from the people in this room," said Salam Al-Mayarati,
MPAC's executive director.
Preparation for NewGround included a six-month study conducted
by two scholars -- one Muslim, one Jewish -- who examined
the failures and successes of interfaith dialogues throughout
the country. Interfaith program co-ordinators Malka Fenyvesi
and Aziza Hasan, who work for PJA and MPAC respectively, will
serve as NewGround staffers.
Hasan said that the group has already selected 18 participants
-- nine Jews and nine Muslims, ranging in age from 27 to 37
-- with such diverse backgrounds as attorneys, doctors, teachers,
filmmakers, artists and doctoral students.
"It's not enough to sit and have coffee together. It's
not enough to visit each other's mosques and synagogues. We
actually need to confront the prejudices and stereotypes that
we hold about each other, agree to disagree, and then fulfill
our traditions' obligations to build a better community,"
PJA Executive Director Daniel Sokatch said.
Imam Jihad Turk of the Islamic Center of Southern California
and Rabbi Reuven Firestone of Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion led the event's opening and closing
prayers.
-- Naomi Glauberman, Contributing Writer
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