Friday, March 22 at 1:00 p.m. at Sayeda Khadija Centre

Last Friday, during Muslim prayers in New Zealand, a white supremacist stormed two mosques, murdering 50 people and injuring scores more. Who among us was not horrified by the news? Who among us did not immediately remember the terrible attack against Jews in Pittsburgh? And who among us does not remember the Ring of Peace our Muslim neighbours subsequently made around Beth Tzedec and other synagogues in the GTA to express their sorrow and solidarity?
 
As Jews, we know what it feels like to be attacked. The words from Megillat Esther, which we will read this Wednesday and Thursday on Purim, ring loudly in our ears: “There is one people that is scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom, their laws are different from every people’s. And they do not follow the king’s laws; it is not worthwhile for the king to tolerate them.” (Esther 3:8) 
 
While anti-Semites have used this age old canard to justify their hate against us, we now see it applied to the Muslim community. Because we know “the heart of the stranger”, we must not remain silent or passive. As we have done before, Jews will create Rings of Peace around mosques throughout the GTA. As Elie Wiesel wrote, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference."
 
We call upon our Beth Tzedec community, and others of good conscience, to join us to form a Ring of Peace on Friday, March 22, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. at the: 
 
Sayeda Khadija Centre
7150 Edwards Blvd. Mississauga, ON L5S 1Z1
(Major intersection is Derry Rd & Hurontario Street).
 
Together, let us go l’shalom, building a society that respects and remembers.

Rav Baruch   Reb Steve   Rav Shalom   Rav Jennifer   Cantor Sidney   Reb Yacov   Daniel
Sheldon Rotman   Debbie Rothstein   Randy Spiegel