UNITY NEEDED FOR A PROSPEROUS MIDDLE EAST: WFWP PATERSON, NJ ATTENDS PALESTINIAN FLAG RAISING DAY EVENTS

For sixteen years, I have been working with the Largest Arab Mosque on the East Coast, The Passaic County Islamic Center, and its Imam, Imam Mohammad Qatanani in Paterson, NJ. He is the descendant of a lineage of 800 years of Palestinian Imams, and we held the 1st National Mosque Interfaith Conference at his center. He was instrumental in opening the doors to Gaza for us for our Peace in the Middle East campaign. At an Iftar event that was held at his mosque last year, I met Ken Abuassab, Director of the Arab American Civic Organization.

When WFWP Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon came to visit, Mr. Abuassab was one of the several people that I invited to Madison Square Garden, and he had a very good experience there. In fact, he was so excited, he wanted to go backstage and meet Mother Moon. I try my best to cultivate good relationships with my various contacts, and he recently sent me an invitation to attend two events that he was hosting, both titled Palestinian Flag Raising Day. One was held in Clifton, NJ on April 29th and the other in Paterson, NJ on May 6th.

The first event was held at the Clifton City Hall, and Reverend Dairo Ferrabolli, my husband Reverend Hubert Haider, and I attended. We went to the event not really knowing what to expect but with open hearts. The mayor of Clifton, Mayor James Anzaldi was in attendance as well as many other dignitaries. Imam Qatanani (mentioned above) was also in attendance as well as the Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of the group Jews United Against Zionism.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Riyad Mansour, a Palestinian-American Diplomat since 2005 who is also the permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations. Reverend Dairo Ferrabolli and myself were also able to speak, and we spoke about having peaceful unity for the Holy Land. There were wonderful Palestinian dancers who performed a traditional Palestinian dance and light refreshments were served. The flag ceremony began with the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag with respect for our nation. This was followed by the Palestinian anthem and the raising of the Palestinian flag in city hall.

There were many Rabbis and Orthodox Jews in attendance. This first event was an eye opening experience, and we were able to prepare for the next event. It was beautiful and a feeling of peace swept over everyone, concluding in a feeling of happiness. The second Palestinian Flag Raising Day took place in Paterson, NJ. I prepared for this event by buying an abundance of very good quality Jewish candy, Parve (Kosher candy) to give as gifts to those I met.

Keynote speaker Mr. Georgei Ennab, pictured with Reverend Ferrabolli on the far right

The Paterson program began, and the keynote speaker was Mr. Georgei Ennab who represented Dr. Husam Zomlot, a Palestinian Ambassador to the UN and former senior advisor to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The address was very beautiful and hopeful.

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss gave a touching speech. The Mayor of Paterson, Mayor Jane Williams-Warren also spoke.

Reverend Dairo Ferrabolli gave a powerful speech on unity and how peace starts with me. He spoke of Palestine’s difficult history and how his experience with the Palestinian people and their hardworking, peaceful nature has earned his respect. Reverend Ferrabolli has been to Palestine and Gaza many times as an ambassador for peace and explained how God loves Palestine and offered hope to all those in attendance.

NBC news covered the event. I was interviewed and able to speak about going to the Middle East, seeing how unbalanced the Holy Land is, and how unity is required for the Middle East to prosper. I also introduced WFWP and mentioned that women are instrumental to change things in the world during this time. Once again, the format for the flag raising portion of the event honored the U.S. While the Palestinian flag was being raised, I felt a feeling of pride that America is really trying to promote a peaceful resolution in the Holy Land. During the event, I was able to talk to Rabbi David Feldman, and we spoke for about 30 minutes. I could really feel the love from him and his Jewish community members. There were about 20 of them who traveled from upstate NY and Brooklyn, and their love and sincerity was palpable. Many of these men are from Palestine themselves and some of their family members are in Palestine in the middle of the conflict.

Left to right: Paterson keynote speaker Mr. Georgei Ennab, host Ken Abuassab, Reverend Claire Haider, and Reverend Dairo Ferrabolli

I also spoke with the Mayor Jane Williams-Warren who knew about WFWP and our work in Paterson and was happy to meet me.

A few hours after the event, I received a phone call from Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss. I had given him some of the Kosher candy I had prepared for him in nice packaging. He told me that everyone in the van back from the event enjoyed the candy so much. All of the Rabbis and Jewish members were able to eat it because it was Kosher. He told me he was so touched that I went out of my way to get candy from a Jewish store just for him. He said to me, with emotion and love, “I’m sorry that I didn’t seem more grateful at the time that you gave it to me until I opened the gift up in the van. We are so thankful, and I even saved some candy for my daughter, because it is her favorite! You spent so much money!” That phone call was such a meaningful ending to a long day. I really felt Rabbi Weiss received the candy from me as a token of God’s love, and reciprocated that love right back to me.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of WFWP.

Reverend Claire Haider with Mayor Jane Williams-Warren

Left to right: Rabbi Yisroel David Weiss, Reverend Ferrabolli, and Reverend Hubert Haider