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A Letter From Kuwait

A Letter From Kuwait

Jew in the City’s mission to break down stereotypes about Orthodox Jews was started as a social media campaign for two main reasons: Number one, new media – especially YouTube – is very effective at conveying one’s personality to viewers and most people, after having a positive interaction with an Orthodox Jew begin to view the entire group more positively. And two, social media has the ability to spread to every corner of the earth. When I received the following letter yesterday, I saw just how true these principles are. (With your help, we can reach so many more people!)

Dearest Allison,

One of the greatest things about the internet is that it takes you to wonderful places… a place like your blog. I was first introduced to you through your channel on you tube. Some how i was looking through hair tutorials and suddenly found you, talking about wigs, and things started from there…

I am not here to talk about converting, or to bash your Orthodox views, nor am I here to ask a question in hopes that one day it will be hard for you to answer… To makes things clearer… I am from a different world, a different religion, and when I say different, I mean it… as much as it upsets me that our world today has turned you… Isaac’s descendant and me… Ismael’s descendant against each other… as much as I am happy to tell you that…Bent Ami Allison… (Allison my past cousin) I am an Arab, a Muslim who totally respects you and admires you and I mean it with all my heart..

You are in a quest to break down stereotypes… I was one of them.. until I met a fellow student (Arab in origin) in college who turned out to be a Jew and things started from there. I think of her all the time, I think of how much her friendship touched my life.. the day I found out she was a Jew… unexplained feelings… I thought so may time of giving up that friendship for she is a JEW.. she is my ENEMY… but she only treated me so nicely.. I even attended Shabbath with her once!

I respect you.. I admire you.. and I watch your videos, and I was introduced to the movie Ushpizin through your [radio] interview.. I watched it.. and I even didn’t have to read the subtitles at some scenes.. so many words are alike in arabic and in hebrew. The movie is GREAT.. looking at Mali (the wife int he movie) I remembered my aunts and grandmother and even my mother… the covering of the hair.. the modest clothing.. what is wrong with our world??? why do we look for differences when there is so much in common? Not all Muslims are the same Allison I promise.. you and I are living through the times when weird things happened…and i am against everything that harms humanity. I am against terrorism, I believe the Holocaust did happen and I watched Speilberg’s movies .. I am interested in your history because i respect it.. I believe in Ibrahim.. Noah.. Mosa, Isaac..so why do grow to hate each other as Jews/Muslims… this question to me is mind boggling… i wish you all the best.. continue…prosper..and spread the love of faith and God.. no matter how far away you are.. and no matter how each of our backgrounds fear the other… and view each other as the bad people.. I am here to tell you… Allah Ybarkek —> God Bless You… you have made me understand more… respect more.. and continue to delete politics from my life..

tonight.. my whole family is watching Ushpizin… Dad can’t wait.. neither can my sister law 🙂

Blessings to you and to your family..

YOUR FAN FROM KUWAIT 🙂

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6 comments

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Barbara says on June 15, 2012
AMEN! What a beautiful letter, Fan from Kuwait. Everything you say is so true, and I long for the day when so many more people feel the same way. We are brothers and sisters who meant to live together in the land we both love and belong to.

I myself was raised a Christian and learned later in life about my family’s Jewish heritage. Once I learned about Judaism and about Islam, I could see, coming it at as sort of an “outsider,” the strong similarities between the two.

Bless you for sharing a message that isn’t always popular. The key is for people to learn the truth about each other!
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Yochana says on June 15, 2012
This is absolutely wonderful and so spot on! I’m tearing up. Thank you, JITC Fan in Kuwait, and thank you, Allison for sharing this. 🙂
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Andrea Grinberg (Andrea Herzog) says on June 16, 2012
This is so wonderful and I’m totally tearing up. Thanks to you, and to this woman 🙂
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Cheskie says on June 25, 2012
Allison,
Thank you!! What a great letter!

Interestingly, I recently read a write up from another Kuwaiti about his discovery of Judaism – he was born and grew up in a Muslim family in Kuwait and today he lives as an Orthodox Jew in Israel.
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nahid hasan says on July 3, 2012
This is so wonderful and I’m totally tearing up.
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Laila says on July 23, 2013
There were many Kuwaiti Jews living in Kuwait in the early 1900’s before the establishment of Israel. They all left when Israel was established.. Kuwaitis Jews and Muslims lived side by side back then, there wasn’t anti-Semitic discrimination. Kuwaiti Jews were actually wealthy merchants.
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Allison Josephs

Allison Josephs is the founder and executive director of Jew in the City has been involved in the field of Jewish Outreach for over twenty years and is the Partner in Torah mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. She was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers and one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36. Allison has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, NYPost, Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Hollywood Reporter. She has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including CBS, ABC, Fox5, TLC, Associate Press TV, and NPR; her articles have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, JTA, Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Kveller. Pearson Education, the largest textbook company in the world, produced a video segment on Allison’s life for the Judaism chapter of their textbook. She is a sought-after international lecturer whose corporate clients include Con-Edison and NYU Langone and hosts a weekly podcast on the Nachum Segal Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.