A rabbi and imam in conversation on how they're counseling their communities

An imam and rabbi spoke of what they're telling their congregations, and what they would like to say to each other. Hanan Isachar/Getty Images hide caption

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An imam and rabbi spoke of what they're telling their congregations, and what they would like to say to each other.

Hanan Isachar/Getty Images

The conflict in Israel and Gaza has brought grief and pain to many Jews and Muslims in the U.S.. invited a rabbi and an imam to share how they are counseling their congregations here in the States.

Who are they?

• Imam Mohamed Herbert is a resident scholar of the Islamic Center of Johnson County, Kansas.
• Sharon Brous is senior rabbi and founder of IKAR, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California.

First, what is the latest?

• Israeli troops are preparing for what appears to be an imminent ground invasion into Gaza.
• This comes just over a week after the militant group Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel, killing 1,400 Israelis and taking more than 100 people hostage.
• Since then, Israel has launched a bombing campaign which has killed more than 2,600 Gazans, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

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A demonstrator wears a yarmulke embroidered with the flags of Israel and the United States during a rally in support of Israel outside the Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver on Sunday. Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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What are Imam Herbert and Rabbi Brous saying?

The rabbi and imam spoke with host Ari Shapiro on Friday. They talked about the messages they're sharing with their congregations, and spoke to one another directly with messages of peace.

On how they're guiding their congregations:

Imam Herbert: For our sermon [on Friday], what we've prepared is kind of a reflection piece, taking an opportunity to reflect on our lives internally and then to think about how it is that we will respond externally, right? Faith without action is absolutely useless, and action without faith is misguided. And so when we speak about an internal response to how it is that we internalize everything that's happened, one of the key things that I hope for my community to step away from the sermon with is understanding that there is pain on both sides, right?

Rabbi Brous: I see the pastor's task as offering some kind of moral clarity, which in this case means both repeating again and again that there is no justification for crimes against humanity ... And I also need to remind my community that Palestinians are suffering terribly also now and will continue to in the days ahead. And so just as we ask the world to see our pain and stand with us in our sorrow, it's our moral and spiritual obligation to do the same, to expand our lens of care and concern to also encompass the Palestinian people.