PURCHASE – The American Jewish Committee (AJC) of Westchester/Fairfield celebrated its Annual Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast at the Manhattanville College campus Thursday morning.
The breakfast, which began in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks and has occurred every year since then, was host to over 350 people this year. The purpose of the event has been to promote harmony, as well as understanding, among all cultures and religions.
Insights learned through discussion are what Scott Richman, director of AJC Westchester/Fairfield, believes are key.
“The most important thing about this breakfast, of course, is that people come together, but the second most important thing is that people continue to do throughout the year what they’re learning at this breakfast,” said Richman. “They’re learning how to build bridges, they’re learning how to reach out to the other and we help them do that.”
Each year, the breakfast operates under a theme; this year’s being, “Respecting ourselves; respecting others.” Three individuals were chosen to receive honors for being a manifestation of that theme. Monsignor Alan Detscher of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, Joel Fridovich of the New Rochelle Alternative High School and Ayse Keskin of the Turkish Cultural Center were all honored for their work in inter-religious relations. This was the first time since the breakfast was begun that each of the three honorees, respectively: Christian, Jewish and Muslim, represented a different major world religion.
Clifford Wolf, co-chair of the AJC of Westchester/Fairfield, was also specially honored for his long-time work in promoting spiritual understanding across various faiths.
The main focus of the breakfast is dedicated to giving guests an opportunity to experience, firsthand, the significance of open conversation with people who hold different beliefs.
“There are many more shared values than we realize,” said Wolf. “People who seem to be on opposite sides of the spectrum, on many issues, actually come to it with a shared, with a common, concern and if we can talk about it and overcome our difficulties, we can accomplish more, positive, goals.”
