Religions are meant to be a source of blessing for humankind. In 2019, multifaith leaders have a long way to go to gain respect from believers and atheists alike.
We must find our collective voice to protect Christians in Nigeria from continuing murder and mayhem from the likes of Boko Haram. We must forge effective global coalitions to urge Beijing to allow Christians and Muslims to adhere to their faiths, as destroying churches and dispatching hundreds of thousands to internment camps is unacceptable in 2019.
We must lobby for the forgotten from Myanmar, Syria and Iraq still languishing in refugee camps; we must take the lead on both sides of the Atlantic to denounce skyrocketing anti-Semitism, history’s oldest hate.
The Hebrew prophets always emphasize that G-d judges us first on how we treat the stranger, not on how long we meditate on his omnipotence.
If we make even a small dent in this list, we will be back on the path of being a source of blessing — not curse — in 2019.
Cooper is associate director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.