From left. Rabbi Cory Weiss, Immigration Minister John McCallum and Imam Seyed Reza Hoseini-Nasab at the the March 6 launch of the Temple Har Zion and Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre refugee program. Rabbi Weiss wears a buttoned up dark suit, striped tie, glasses and a yarmulke.  He has a dark beard and his hair appears to be thinning just a bit. He is smiling widely. Mr. McCallum wears a brown suit with no tie and a yarmulke. As he does often these days, he is smiling. The Imam wears a dark robe and turban. His collar is white and his hands are cupped in front of him at the waste. He wears a tight smile.

From left. Rabbi Cory Weiss, Immigration Minister John McCallum and Imam Seyed Reza Hoseini-Nasab at the the March 6 launch of the Temple Har Zion and Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre refugee program.
Photo Credit: cjnews.com via cbc

Canadian Jews and Muslims unite to help Syrian refugees

Pick your poison.

Pick up a newspaper, click on your computer and presto! Be bombarded with the worst of human kind, way too many people spewing venom in the name of religion.

Not always, of course. There are exceptions.

For one, I direct you to a parking lot in the Greater Toronto Area town of Thornhill.

A Syrian refugee and his child wait at a resting point to board a bus on the Greek island of Lesbos in October. We see a dark-haired man with a slight, dark beard dressed in white. His enormous arms hug a child, who appears to be two or three, in his lap. The child wears a grey toque. He is sound asleep.
A Syrian refugee and his child wait at a resting point to board a bus on the Greek island of Lesbos in October. © Muhammed Muheisen

On one side sits the Temple Har Zion synogogue. Across the asphalt sits the Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre.

For years they have co-existed, administering to the faithful, doing their own thing in that oh so civil and polite Canadian fashion.

A lot has changed recently.

The congregations work together now, galvanized, showing common cause, trying to ease the burden of the desperate human beings fleeing the hell that is Syria.

Some 25,000 of those Syrians have already arrived in Canada. Temple Har Zion Rabbi Cory Weiss and Imam Mahdi Islamic Centre Imam Seyed Reza Hosseini-Nasa and their congregations are doing their level best to bring more.

So far, they have raised over $12,000 toward a minimum goal of $60,000 to sponsor more refugees.

And they are just getting started.

Rabbi Weiss spoke by phone with RCI from Thornhill on Tuesday.

Listen
Categories: Immigration & Refugees, International, Society
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.