Shabbat Dinner Experience

Nydell, Margaret K. (. K. Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth, ME, 2006.

Regardless of the growing frequency of Jewish migrating to the United States, the community continues to confront the many issues as part of their assimilation. Through this process of assimilating,

Sitting in a comfortable leather chair on a cloudy January day, I sat in a house and interviewed Susan Gustavson, a life long Jew that is in her mid-fifties. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Columbia University, where she got an MBA in marketing. She told me about her opinions on the Judaism.

Eleven million individuals were victimized by the Holocaust. Six million of those victims were Jewish, while the other five million were groups targeted by the Nazi’s because they didn’t fit their discriminative criteria. Inhumane practices were used in attempts to purify and unify the German state (Novick, 225). When the Holocaust is discussed, the Jewish victims are usually the main focal point of the massive “genocide.”

The Holocaust is something that we must never forget. Its occurrence relied only “upon the indifference of bystanders in every land” (Zukier). Even today we stand by while innocent lives are taken. The recent conflicts in Rwanda or Bosnia, or past conflicts in Cambodia, are merely three examples. Wherever genocide occurs one thing is sure to happen– individual lives become lost in massive numbers and the tolls are so large

According to Arab American Natural Museum. Arab American try to preserve their culture and pass it on from generation to generation. The family is the main point of social existence. Men and women are essentially different. Wisdom increases with age and most life is controlled by fate. Arab Americans also try to maintain contact with their extended family and members of their town of origin who may be detached throughout the world. Family and town reunions, community banquets, conventions and festivals all allow Arab Americans to preserve and celebrate the culture of their homelands and to keep ties with others back home.

Starting off with the big question, I see. Judaism has always been a crucial part of who I am. My father was active in my synagogue when I was growing up. My family attended Friday night services regularly at the local synagogue. Judaism, for me, represents a body of thought lend itself to simple answers and operates as a system that makes sense to me as an adult.

Possibilities and challenges of interreligious and secular dialogue in today’s world. According to Zago, globalization was imminent and interreligious contact unavoidable, leading to religious pluralism. The tendency was increasing and creating challenge to mission, which would create not only meetings but also clashes among various religions. He anticipates the need of attitudes and initiatives for interreligious dialogue, but this “Dialogue, however, must not eliminate proclamation that remains at the heart of mission and is the criterion by which to judge the validity of mission and to promote discernment in elaborating a theology of mission and dialogue.”

The end of the Shoah in 1945 did not bring a new period of human history absent of genocide. Rather, genocides such as in Rwanda illustrated the complexities of how to remember and rebuild societies. Since the end of the Rwandan Genocide, also referred to as the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis, Rwandans crafted new national identity, politics, development policies and foreign relations. Containing within each of these issues lies remembrance and prevention of a future genocide. This includes forming diplomatic and personal relations with a previously unknown people, the Jewish community. Jewish resilience, whether as a people or as a nation of Israel, after mass murder, pogroms, expulsions and the Shoah are seen by Rwandans as a guide for their

Genocide is rightfully seen as one of the most emotionally heavy words in the English language. When many people think of genocide, they might correlate the word to the attempted, and nearly successful, extermination of the Jewish people during World War II. To stand by and watch fellow human beings killing each other because of their race, religion, sexuality, etc., leads many to conclude those who stand by are just as guilty as those who commit the act. Unfortunately, countless horrendous acts are kept silent from the global eye, as the film The Devil Came on Horseback intends to show us. Anne Sundeburg’s 2007 documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback, creatively uses persuasion techniques, which include: the credibility of Marine Brian

One might say there is nothing that can be done to unite peaceful cohabitation of religious differences in smaller communities within the same society. Although, one might want to consider the implication of acknowledging the ideas of subjectivity and context and removing any fear and or control as to acquire knowledge of that which is unknown.

In addition, I visited a local mosque to experience firsthand a Muslim prayer service. Finally, I interviewed a coworker to discover an inside view of the Islam religion from someone who practices the religion. The coworker has been a Muslim since birth and was very pleased to share his experiences with Allah (God) with me and was happy to answer my questions about Islam.

In the years just after World War II, Zionism (the desire to rebuild a Jewish national presence in the Promised Land) became a popular Jewish cause all around the world. Many Jews who were not practicing Judaism at all with religion became involved with the establishment of the State of Israel. Even today, many years after the successful founding of the State of Israel, there are Jews whose only real tie to Judaism is their belief in Zionism and their support for the State of Israel. They are joined by many Jews who are members of synagogues and support a modern Jewish religious movement, but who also find their prime identity as Jews in the Zionist cause.

In today’s world the media likes to portray Islam as having violent members and feeling the need to kill other people. Before arriving at the Islamic Center, I wasn’t worried but I really had no idea what to expect. After watching them worship and converse with them in groups, I now know that more than a wide majority of Islamic people are friendly and despise people who kill in the name of Islam. I was able to talk to these people using the seven dialogues which we learned about in class, and made for smooth and comfortable conversations. While conversing with these people, I was able to learn a ton of knowledge about the Islamic religion and at the same time shared with them some of my beliefs. This process also showed me how it is very possible for me to go out into the world and engage in other interreligious dialogue.