At this holy and sacred time in out communities, our hearts turn together in hope and in prayer. Our common Abrahamic tradition teaches that "to destroy a single life is to destroy an entire world. To save a single life is to save an entire world." (Talmud and Koran)

The violence we see in the Middle East contradicts this idea. Therefore, we call upon both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians to observe an immediate ceasefire in the name of everything that is holy.

Tonight, as the food fills out bodies, our hopes fill our spirits as together we turn in prayer. By being as one community, we wish to demonstrate to extremists on both sides that each of our faiths call upon us to reject the ways of fear and hate and to follow the ways of peace and justice.

We therefore call for an immediate de-escalation of violence, restoration of direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace agreement.

Anything short of this is a violation of our deepest beliefs and sacred duties as Jews and Muslims. We proclaim our oneness as brothers and sisters responsible one for the others as we work to find pathways to peace.

Rabbi Herbert Brockman

Dr. Reza Mansoor

Rabbi Joshua Ratner

Manji Dhaouadi