Summary: The last day of 2008 was a bad day for interfaith relations in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had his annual Prayer Breakfast at the New York Public Library, where several hundred religious leaders gathered. As usual there were prayers offered from many faiths. The Hindus were miffed, because a Sikh got their usual slot. Instead of praying, the Sikh explained Sikhism for a bit too long. The Buddhist monk also prayed too long, and the translation took forever. But poor staging was not the reason for the dark cloud that hung over us all. Instead, it was the bombing of Gaza. Or rather it was the Mayor’s response the day before that created tension in the audience. The night before, Bloomberg had sided with Israel in the conflict. “I feel very strongly that Israel really does have a right …to defend itself,” he said. The mayor said nothing about the loss of innocent life on the Palestinian side. Reuters Blogs
Author: Matthew Weiner
Staff: Matthew Weiner
Article Date:
Article Name: Gaza, New York, Mayor Bloomberg and interfaith dialogue
