VICTORIA, TEXAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — Members of a local Jewish congregation have given the keys to their synagogue to Muslims whose mosque burned down.
The fire that destroyed the Victoria Islamic Center early on January 28 is considered suspicious in nature. High school students responded first, calling for support of the Muslim group with prayers and by planting trees. A GoFundMe page was established, quickly raising in excess of a million dollars.
That’s when the members of the small Jewish community came forward and offered their Muslim neighbors the use of their synagogue until the mosque is rebuilt.
Robert Loeb, president of the synagogue, told Reuters, “This is sad for everyone in the community and as Jews we especially have to feel for the Muslim community. When a calamity like this happens, we have to stand together.”
In November, the Islamic Society of North America and the American Jewish Committee partnered to create the national Muslim-Jewish Advisory Committee aiming to combat hatel speech and violence toward members of both faiths.
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