Aron Hirt-Manheimer is Editor of Reform Judaism magazine

In the aftermath of the Fort Hood mass murders, King Abdullah II's hopeful message to the General Assembly  was very reassuring.

Talking to us from Amman, Jordan and seated next to a portrait of his late father, King Hussein, the monarch made two key points. First, that the end game -- a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel -- is possible and necessary because the Middle East conflict is a flashpoint of international tensions. Second, that, at their core, Judaism and Islam have much in common, and that one of the paths to peace is robust interfaith dialogue. He praised URJ President Rabbi Eric Yoffie's leadership in this endeavor.

I sometimes doubt that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be settled in my life time. But I am not yet at the point of despair, because I know that there are Muslim leaders who are willing to risk their lives for the cause of peace. King Abdullah and his father before him certainly fall in this catagory, as does Azhar Azeez, who spoke at the Biennial in the session on Muslim-Jewish Dialogue. I saw in Azhar Azeez, a founder of the Islamic Society of North America, a true ally in the battle for peaceful coexistence among Jews and Muslims. 

Whenever I feel my hope slipping, I will focus on our Muslim allies, like Abdullah and Azhar, and blot out the words and actions of those who use religion to spread hatred.

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