Muslim and Jewish congregations working together for Pakistan flood victims’ relief

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October 8, 2010
by Rachel Rosin

This past Sunday, October 3, more than thirty parents and children from Temple Beth El gathered along with their Muslim neighbors at the Upper Westchester Muslim Society Mosque to pack boxes of relief aid to be sent to Pakistan.

In August the catastrophic floods that swept Pakistan left one-fifth of the country under water. The flooding destroyed 6,000 villages and left over 15 million people, including 8.5 million children, without shelter, food, clean water, health care and other basic necessities.

According to Nada Khalifeh of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society in Thornwood, “many of our members are from Pakistan and have family still living there.  The response of our members was immediate.  It was important for us to do more than just send money. Our members needed to get involved, along with their children, in a bigger way.”

Temple Beth El’s involvement came as an outgrowth of its long-standing relationship with the Upper Westchester Muslim Society.  Assistant Rabbi Geoffrey Mitelman explained, “We’re building on that relationship, which includes monthly joint meetings.  These are our friends and neighbors who have friends and family members who are in need. Our Midrash text tells us that ‘God feeds the hungry and God clothes the naked, and God lifts up the fallen’ and we have a responsibility to do these things because in our tradition that’s how we bring more of God into this world.” Midrash is the Hebrew word for the verse-by-verse interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Over sixty boxes were packed and, thanks to the generous support of Pakistan International Airlines, they will be delivered to those areas most affected by the disaster.  Each box was packed with the following essential family items: juice, dates, nuts, crackers, powdered milk, Pedialyte, soap, towels and cups as well as a bed sheet to be used for shelter and a pillow case to carry the other items.

At Temple Beth El, three members, Susan Pecker, Sheila Schneiderman and Brenda Haas, were responsible for organizing the relief effort.  According to Susan Pecker, “In light of everything that’s happening with Islam around the world, it’s most important to show that we’re friends with people from the Mosque and will do what we can to help them.”

Rachel Rosin is a congregant of Temple Beth El and has been its volunteer publicist and advertising director for the last six years.