BUENOS AIRES - Young Muslim and Jewish activists in Argentina this week decided to overthrow prejudices and join efforts to donate food, clothing, books, toys, and other basic goods to a church in an underprivileged neighborhood in Buenos Aires, as a gesture of neighborly solidarity with each other and the local Christian communities.
"When the world shows cracks of understanding growing larger, we show that Argentine Jews and Muslims have coexistence to export," said Ezequiel Kieczkier of the Latin American Jewish Congress, a member of the WJC-JDCorps and one of the organizers of the initiative, which took place at the Madre de Dios Parish, located in the Villa Arroyo Cildañez section of the Lugano neighborhood.
Zacarias Abuchanab, a Muslim who took part in the solidarity campaign, said "today's activities not only break with the idea that there is conflict between Muslims and Jews, but also demonstrate that there is solidarity between the neighboring communities".
Most of the participants in the Muslim and Jewish groups had never met their counterparts until a few months ago, when they began gathering for informal activities to get to know each other and prepare the mission. Claudio Epelman, Executive Director of the Latin American Jewish Congress and one of the promoters of the campaign, celebrated that "activities of this nature can happen in our country."
"This action makes us proud in two ways: young people are showing that they have social sensitivity and not only care about the most vulnerable members of society, but also care to do something about it. Also, as is unfortunately infrequent in today’s world, a generation is emerging that seeks to forget historical conflicts and to relate to one another. They are working together, and becoming friends.”
The initiative was promoted by the New Generations program of the Latin American Jewish Congress, the WJC-Jewish Diplomatic Corps, and by the local Muslim community.
