Why as a Muslim I Will March in the Israel Day Parade — For Palestinians Too |
This week, I will fly across America to march in New York’s Israel Day Parade.
For some people, that decision makes no sense. It can be infuriating.
Why would a Muslim march in support of Israel at a time when Gaza is shattered, emotions are raw, and the world feels more divided than ever?
Because after more than a decade working in Muslim-Jewish engagement and peacebuilding, I have learned something painful but undeniable: peace becomes impossible the moment people stop talking to one another.
For years, I have sat with Israelis and Palestinians. I have listened to grieving Jewish families terrified after terror attacks, and I have listened to Palestinians describe checkpoints, war, displacement, humiliation, and fear. I have shared meals in Jewish homes and heard stories from Gazans who simply wanted their children to be educated and safe.
And I have also seen firsthand how “anti-normalization” culture has poisoned the possibility of peace.
Earlier this year in Los Angeles, we organized an event with Jewish partners titled “Breaking Bread: A New Dawn for Jewish-Muslim Unity.” It was meant to be a simple but powerful act of dialogue, friendship, and coexistence. Yet instead of encouragement, many of us were condemned and labeled “Zionists” merely for sitting together with Jews.
This reflects a dangerous reality of our time: peace-making itself is increasingly being attacked. When dialogue becomes controversial and human connection becomes treated as a political crime, we risk losing the very foundation needed for reconciliation and coexistence.
The idea that Muslims or Palestinians should not speak to Israelis, organize with Jews, or even acknowledge Jewish identity except through the lens of oppression has done catastrophic damage. It has created generations taught that dialogue itself is betrayal.
I know this personally.
I have been attacked simply for organizing with Jewish communities in Los Angeles. I have been insulted online and privately condemned for advocating Muslim-Jewish cooperation. In some activist spaces today, merely standing beside Jews — not politicians, not governments, but Jews........