A World Cup Against Antisemitism and Hate

This was probably one of the largest events in recent Washington, D.C., history organized primarily by women. It was the two-day Annual National Coalition Conference Against Antisemitism and Hate, held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., followed by a day on Capitol Hill, where delegates met with bipartisan senators and members of Congress.

The historic conference was hosted and organized by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC), based in Washington, D.C. The gathering brought together Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, people of other faiths, and those with no religious affiliation. Men and women from across the United States and around the world assembled under one roof in a rare display of solidarity against antisemitism, hatred, and intolerance.

The conference opened with the U.S. national anthem, performed by Ghazal Mizrahi, an American-born Iranian Jewish singer. Mizrahi has been active in the Iranian exile movement opposing the clerical regime in Iran. Her parents fled the country shortly after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the so called Islamic Republic came to power following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

The conference against antisemitism and hate was especially significant because it took place on the East Coast at a time when New York City was entering what many commentators were calling the “Mamdani era.” Against that political backdrop with the rise of antisemitism, the gathering underscored the urgency of confronting antisemitism, and religious intolerance.

Following Mizrahi’s rendition of the national anthem, three clergymen from the Abrahamic faiths offered prayers for global peace and for the United States and its people: Rabbi Alex Harris, Pastor Leon Benjamin, and Sheikh Musa.

The master of ceremonies was Seemab Asif, an AMMWEC executive board member, who presided over the proceedings throughout the conference. Seemab Asif is a magician with words and with the English language, and she guided the sessions with remarkable ease.

One of the keynote speakers was Congressman Greg Stanton, the elected representative from Arizona.

The conference also featured panels of influencers, writers, activists, journalists, peace builders, and religious leaders—men and women who had visited Israel and were invited to share their firsthand experiences. The visits were organized under the auspices of AMMWEC, Sharaka, and other organizations.

As someone who has visited Israel twice, I was also invited to speak on the first panel about my own experiences there. After I narrated what I had witnessed and experienced, several people in the audience came up to me.

“You brought tears to our eyes,” many told me.

“You broke our hearts by narrating this story,” others said.

Many of my friends, from both the left and the right, believers and atheists alike, have socially excommunicated me because of my views on Israel and antisemitism. Some simply stopped talking to me or socializing with me.
That’s okay.

But a much heavier price was paid by Imtiaz Mir, a Pakistani journalist associated with Sindhi-language media, who was targeted after visiting Israel and inviting Israeli analysts to his talk show, which he produced and hosted from Karachi.
Mir was first threatened by an Iranian-backed terrorist group and later shot and seriously wounded in a volley of bullets fired by his attackers. He died in a Karachi hospital within a week, even though reports at the time suggested that he was recovering and his condition was improving. Some knowledgeable sources have alleged that Pakistan’s most feared intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was behind his killing.

I believe Imtiaz Mir was a martyr of the Abraham Accords and of the cause of dialogue between peoples who have been taught to hate one another. I call upon the United States and Israel to honor his memory by naming a park, street, or public place after him.

“The issue of antisemitism is not political. It’s fundamental—it’s an issue of right versus wrong,” said Leo Terrell, a keynote speaker at the conference and a President Trump appointee to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and a senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Novelist Dara Horn’s discussion of her book People Love Dead Jews, in conversation with AMMWEC president Anila Ali, was another major focus of interest and attention at the conference.

Another keynote speaker, Carol Ann Schwartz, stressed the importance of unity among the Abrahamic faiths. She emphasized that antisemitism is not only an attack on Jews but also ultimately threatens Muslims and Christians.

“We are living through deeply troubling times. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate are increasingly visible, loud, and violent,” she said.

The conference also saw the launch of O Jerusalem: The Witness Delegations: Truth, Faith, and October 7, published by the newly established Abraham Publishing and Research Center in Washington, with renowned journalist Wajid Ali Syed as its CEO. The launch brought together Congressman Brad Schneider, Anila Ali, and Wajid Ali Syed.

The book presents firsthand accounts by Muslim leaders who traveled to Israel after the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas. It is primarily dedicated to the victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks. The book contains photographs and testimonies documenting the experiences of Muslim leaders who visited the sites of the October 7 massacre, including the Nova music festival site and the kibbutzim in the Gaza envelope.

For many of these Muslim writers, journalists, peace builders, and religious leaders, this was the first time they had publicly narrated their experiences of visiting Israel and witnessing the aftermath of October 7 firsthand.

When my son saw the newly launched book at the conference, he asked me a question that stayed with me:

“I can’t say—whose Jerusalem is more Muslim, Jewish, or Christian?”
AMMWEC and Sharaka have organized trips for Muslim leaders—particularly from Pakistan and Afghanistan, including members of their diasporas and political exiles living in North America and Europe—to visit Israel, especially following October 7.
Two features of the conference particularly impressed me.

The first was the presence of a delegation of Muslim and Christian clergy members from Pakistan, led by activist Kashif Mirza.

The second was the remarkable gathering of women activists, peace builders, and media professionals from North America and Europe, who participated in the panel discussions and brought their experiences and perspectives to the conversation.
Much of the credit goes to Anila Ali for bringing together women from the grassroots—from ordinary households to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, from peace builders in Europe to Arab dissidents from Jordan, and Palestinian Christian religious leaders from Jerusalem—all under one roof at the National Press Club.
She has helped bring what was once considered an unpopular cause—the struggle against antisemitism and hate—into the mainstream conversation, despite threats directed at her and her colleagues. Women from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, North America, and Europe were among those who stood with her.
The conference concluded with a song performed by Ghazal Mizrahi, adding a moving and memorable finale to the gathering.

The second annual National Coalition Conference Against Antisemitism and Hate coincided with the FIFA World Cup atmosphere unfolding in New Jersey and across North America.

But, in its own way, I would call this conference Anila Ali and her team’s World Cup against antisemitism and hate in Washington, D.C.

A cake decorated with the stripes and stars of the American flag was cut during the conference by participants and hosts to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.