User:Kaheena01/sandbox

Background
There is currently increasing dialogue between Jews and Muslims, particularly in North America. The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom (SOSS) is a interfaith platform across North America that is bringing Muslim and Jewish women together to build bridges and fight hate, negative stereotyping and prejudice. The relationships that are built by bringing together Muslim and Jewish women, who share so many practices and beliefs, are life-changing and can help put an end to anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiment. These women come together in hopes of peacefully learning from one another - which, given a backdrop of racial and religious division playing out domestically and internationally, some might call a radical intention. There has existed a divide between Jews and Muslims, primarily due to the Israeli-Palestine conflict. There is resulting anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on both sides. The real challenge for bridging this divide, and by extension for hope in the Middle East, lies in how both Muslims and Jews regard and engage with the narrative of the other. But when both groups find themselves on opposite sides of an ideological chasm, any opportunity for discussion or engagement is lost, and so is the possibility of learning from each other. SOSS allows Muslim and Jewish women to engage with each other’s narratives, fortified with hope that doing so will lead to a more peaceful tomorrow.

Activities
In the US there are more than 150 different "sisterhoods" including one in Toronto.

The Chapter in Toronto mixes interfaith dialogue and activism. For example, the Toronto Chapter has held a women’s Seder, and sent a letter of protest when a branch of the Toronto Public Library hosted a memorial for a far-right lawyer who had defended a Holocaust denier. In addition, they foster dialogue and have been a constant source of support for one another.