The New York Synagogue Congregation of Rabbi Marc Schneier was host and  to Imam Shamsi Ali of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, the great Mosque at 3rd Avenue and 96th Street in Manhattan, are part of the “TWINNING” of Synagogues and Mosques.

The Jewish and Muslim communities, led by leaders from above named institutions and The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, helped by Russell Simmons, Chairman of the Foundation and Reverend Martin Luther King III, President and CEO, Realizing the Dream Foundation, started an effort to get close to each other as we posted on www.SustainabiliTank.info on January 15, 2007. This slowly evolved to meetings we covered on postings – March 15, and April 5, 2008. We were there from the start of the activity and contended that this could actually become also an example for the UN on how different ethnic groups can learn to live together. The Synagogue hosted a dinner with the Ambassador of Qatar, and that was a clear step in the correct direction.

That effort led to the Twinning idea that was then implemented first with the participation of 50 Mosques and 50 Synagogues in the US, November 21-23, 2008.

This year we had now the second such event with 100 twinning pairs – in the US, Canada, and France, the UK – and a movement that is expanding globally. Each pair in such a twinning picks their own topic for dialogue and evolving cooperation.

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2nd Annual Weekend of Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues
Special Events              -November 13-15, 2009-
2nd Annual Weekend of Twinningsm of Mosques and Synagogues Across North America.

On November 13-15, 2009, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), will sponsor the the 2nd Annual Weekend of Twinningsm. On that weekend, mosques and synagogues across North America will link up with each other to hold one-on-one programs dedicated to exploring commonalities in our religious practices, customs and traditions, and to building ongoing ties of friendship and trust between Jews and Muslims across the continent.

Last November, during our inaugural Weekend of Twinningsm, 50 Jewish and 50 Muslim congregations and organizations across the United States and Canada held one-on-one programs in cities across the continent, making the event the largest-ever gathering of Jews and Muslims anywhere in the world. This year, we expect an even larger number of participating mosques and synagogues, including members of those congregations which took part last year and many new people who may not have known about the last year’s event.

The Weekend of Twinningsm of Mosques and Synagogues Across North America has the endorsement of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), as well as other organizations like the World Jewish Congress (WJC), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims (CAJM).

The theme for the 2nd Annual Weekend of Twinningsm will be “Building a Common Agenda.” In addition to getting to know each other better and discussing commonalities, the twinned mosques and synagogues will devote time during the upcoming Weekend of Twinningsm to a discussion of issues on which they can work together fruitfully in the coming months and years. Among the societal issues which may be discussed include combating Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, saving the environment, fighting poverty, immigration reform, expanding health care coverage, and improving education in our communities.  In addition, we urge synagogues and mosques participating in the 2nd Annual Weekend of Twinningsm to involve their young people in the proceedings.

FFEU will offer ideas and share resources that will be helpful to mosques and synagogues preparing their programs for the Weekend of Twinningsm . We also can help congregations which would like to participate but are presently without a partner to find the best possible ‘twin.’

In 2008, the Weekend of Twinningsm received a great deal of media attention in North America and around the world. One sign that our effort to role-model a successful Muslim-Jewish partnership is spreading rapidly is that mosques and synagogues in Britain have agreed to take part in this year’s event. We also expect selected mosques and synagogues in other European countries to take part, making it a truly international event.

Mabruk, yashar koach and congratulations to the many wonderful people in grass-roots Muslim and Jewish communities across the U.S. and Canada who worked so hard to make the inaugural Weekend of Twinningsm such an inspirational success. Let us resolve to join together again to make this year’s, and to take the next important step in building solid ties of friendship and trust between Jews and Muslims in the United States and Canada.

For information on to how to get involved in the2nd Annual Weekend of Twinningsm , please contact:

Walter Ruby
Muslim-Jewish Relations Program Officer
Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
917 294-1772
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The event hosted November 14, 2009 by the New York Synagogue Community was about mutual understanding of the concepts of Halal and Kosher – “IS HALAL KOSHER? IS KOSHER HALAL? ABRAHAM’S CHILDREN AROUND THE TABLE.”

Obviously, this was about learning each others religious habits, but the event gave me the possibility to raise the question with Walter Ruby, Program Officer of the Muslim- Jewish Relations Program of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

MY ARGUMENT IS THAT AFTER THE TWO ETHNIC GROUP MEMBERSHIPS LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER SO THEY DO NOT THINK THAT ONE GROUP REALLY HATES THE OTHER, WHY NOT CEMENT THIS RELATIONSHIP BY DOING IN COMMON THINGS THAT ARE OF FOCAL INTEREST TO BOTH GROUPS AND ARE NOT DIVISIVE. WHY NOT TRY DISTANCING THEMSELVES FIRST FROM THE DIFFERENCES INVOLVING THE MIDDLE EAST, AND FOCUS INSTEAD ON ISSUES OF IMMEDIATE COMMON INTEREST SUCH AS THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT OR POVERTY and QUESTIONS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE? By finding common interests, and seeing that cooperation is not just desirable but also possible, there may indeed later be also a way to cooperate in areas that are physically more remote. Yes, when talking real estate on the ground in the Middle East is difficult, but starting with climate change and air quality that does not recognize demarcation lines on the ground?  Here there is clearly a place for cooperation that humanizes the one you thought was an unrepentant enemy.      OK – I learned from Walter Ruby that this is the future line of this interesting cooperation.

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From the meeting at the New York Synagogue, I walked up Park Avenue to the EXPLORERS CLUB where meetings were going on all day according to a special event titled “SEA STORIES.” The topics were:

Ty Sawyer presented – “HOW TO SAVE THE SEAS.”  He is the Editorial Director  of Islands Magazine a series of Diving Sport activities and publications. These folks dive to see things and are clearly interested in preserving nature. He is now based in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida. Talking to him I learned of his interest in using deep cold water from the sea as part of heat exchange system that can provide air-conditioning for Hotels of Hawaii Islands. He is a Florida based National fellow of the Explorers Club since 2002.

David W. Jourdan – “Never Forgotten – The Search and Discovery of Israel’s Lost Submarine Dakar.”  The speaker is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and has a Master degree in applied physics from John Hopkins University. He is not just a professional submariner, but also an inventor of technologies that save energy. His presentation dealt with his finding of the Dakar, but my conversation with him later was about sustainability. His scientific published work was in the areas of Doppler sonar navigation and oceanographic survey planning. In 1986, Mr. Jourdan co-founded Meridian Sciences, Inc., which became Nauticos Corporation in 1998. He is the principle owner and has served as President and General Manager, directing business and technical operations as the company pursues its mission to lead the world in ocean exploration. Under Mr. Jourdan’s direction, Nauticos has played a key role in the development of U.S. Navy capabilities for underwater research, has worked to develop offshore oil and gas technology, and has worked with the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and other media companies on projects of public interest. Mr. Jourdan has co-authored several papers concerning the use of remote sensing and navigation systems for underwater vehicles. In 1999, Mr. Jourdan was honored as Maryland’s Small Business Person of the Year and awarded Ernest and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Science and Technology. He is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club since 2004.

Edward Von der Porten – “The Galleon San Felipe.” He is a naval historian and nautical archeologist who discovered treasures of Ming porcelain when he found the San Felipe that went under in 1576 off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. His presentation was in the  classic old style of the Explorers Club – an exploration for the sake of doing something original. He is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club since 1980.

Dr. Charles E. Rawlings – Portraits of “Living Mollusks.” He is a neurosurgeon, a lawyer, an underwater photographer and author. His real interest in life is to photograph living mollusks and does not care about collecting shells of dead mollusks. Now that is a fresh breath of air when it comes to the concept of exploration. He is involved with the Club since 1990 and has led several Explorer Club Flag Expeditions.

Jill Heinerth – “Into the Planet Using Circuit Rebreathers.” The only woman that spoke that day, she is a professional diver, photographer and film-maker. she pioneered the closed-circuit rebreather equipment technology that allowed her to dive through under water caves – be these in freshwater channels in Florida or Antarctic icebergs. She uses this technology for environmental studies involving also cases of  underground-water pollution. She got prizes for her technology but should eventually be rewarded for her potential environmental successes. She is not a member of the Explorers Club.

Cave Diving

Dr. Gregory Skomal – “Ocean Travelers: Tracking the World’s Biggest Sharks.” He heads the Massachusetts Shark Research program and spoke about that region, but showed us further specimens he filmed in other parts of the world. He authored the Shark Handbook as well as many more books on aquarium keeping. He is a scientist who studied shark migration and is not a member of the Explorers Club. http://hotnewsblogforu.blogspot.com/2009…

I did go a bit to length with this reporting because of the fact that I was quite impressed with the fact that the average age at this Explorers Club event was by 25 years lower then at usual events, and by the fact that most presenters, in my talking to them, seemed much more interested in taking pictures of what they found rather then collecting the findings as trophies. As such, this reminded me of my previous reporting from the Club’s events and of my previous effort at interesting the club in activities of environment value. It simply boggles my mind why is the New york Explorers Club, or the National Club as well, in the forefront of issues like climate change? As I observed before, with a recognized presence at the UN, as an NGO, the Club has not made its presence known – not on environmental issues or on any other issues either.

I used my presence last night to ask the good people that spoke, and that are connected to the Club, if they would not raise the same question also?

Our previous postings on www.SustainabiliTank.info regarding the Explorers Club:

An UPDATE – Dr. Perkins, leadership, The Explorers Club New York, The Lowell Thomas Awards Dinner 2009 and “Mountain Stories” October 15 and 17 events.
Sunday, October 18th, 2009

From Martha Shaw of earthadvertising.com about Walter Cronkite – “the Journalist explorer” – having been a “Spokesperson for the Planet” after having had his career of discussing in our living rooms the matters of the world. Whatever we think about him – a Walter Cronkite is needed for Climate Change these days of “The Age of Stupid.”
Friday, July 31st, 2009

Film Series at the Explorers Club, New York – June 13-14, 2008. Still no interest in Global Warming/Climate Change, but even so the events are interesting and always beg the question – so what now? Do we look at what climate change will/does to these great places?
Sunday, June 8th, 2008

OK. It Is Promotion of Tourism, But We Have High Respect For The Maori/New Zealand/Aotearoa – so please go to the Explorers Club, New York City, February 7, 2008.
Monday, January 28th, 2008