JPB’s faithful friend, Guest Jewish Educator, and current Board Member, Rabbi Steve Gross, recently worked with local rabbis and imams in Houston to publish a Community Statement on the recent violence in the Holy Lands. The Statement, which you can read here, speaks to the importance of interfaith work, advocacy, and dialogue. Rabbi Steve and many others have worked for decades to build interfaith partnerships across the city despite pressure and disagreement around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As Rabbi Steve shared with us, the Statement “represents a commitment by rabbis and imams to continue to build bridges of respect, trust and support between our communities of faith. It is rooted in the realization that a focus on our shared interests can go a long way in the establishment of respectful, healthy relationships and pave the groundwork for justice and peace for all.”

Work on the Statement began with four rabbis and four imams coming together and resulted in a document including the signatures of 28 rabbis and 23 imams. It is a remarkable accomplishment, a sign of hope during stressful times, and reaffirms the Houston interfaith community's shared commitment to peace.

Rabbi Steve meets with Houston area Rabbis, Imams, and community leaders to discuss

the Community Statement