Diane Vera

Given my interest in building an activist organization against religion-based bigotry (see the blog of New Yorkers Against Religion-Based Bigotry), I should attend the following event, here in New York City: Self-Criticism in the American Muslim and Jewish Communities with Reza Aslan, Moushumi Khan, Rabbi Stern, and others.

"Leading American Muslims and Jews look in the mirror and critique their own communities. They point out where leadership falls short in its efforts to create dialogue bewteen the two communities and explore factors that contribute to hostility and suspicion between the two groups."

( Details here )

P.S., 5/8/2008: Apparently this event has been cancelled.

( More info here )

Lately I've been reading up on the recent revival of traditional libels against Jews, especially in the Muslim world, and also in the former Soviet Union. This topic is of interest to me for a number of reasons, one of which is the parallels between classic anti-Jewish myths, such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and paranoid tales about "the Illuminati," which are used to scapegoat Satanists, Pagans, and occultists, among others.

( Read more, including links to news stories )

P.S., 4/28/2008: I've posted quite a bit more about this matter on my Wordpress blog: Refutations of some classic libels against Jews, including more accounts of the spread of the blood libel and other classic anti-Jewish myths.