austindearman

A group of Chicago area Rabbis attended the funeral of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the six year old Palestinian-American boy who was brutally murdered by his landlord due to his ethnicity and religion. Rabbi Ari Hart explains why the Rabbis attended the funeral: “The Jerusalem Talmud teaches that the Jewish people are obligated to comfort the mourners of our people and of all people because of darchei shalom - the paths of peace. Today, a group of rabbis of us went to the funeral of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six year old Muslim boy who was killed in his home by his depraved landlord because he was Palestinian and Muslim. This picture is with the imam of the mosque where the funeral was held. We met with the Imam, heard from the father, and stood with the boy’s community as they mourned this horrific loss. We witnessed the pain. We expressed our shock and condemnation of the attack. We wept. I can’t say that it was simple to be there. These are not simple times. But the murder of a six year old because of his faith and his identity is not complicated. It is a heinous crime. And that’s why we went today. These days it really feels like the world has lost its way. But I can’t give up on trying, yearning, dreaming, even right now, of finding the way to shalom. The way to peace.”