As we commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, I must reflect on the profound experience of my journey to Israel this past week at the invitation of the American Israel Education Foundation. From visiting the Sea of Galilee to the Old City of Jerusalem, I was reminded of the modest yet transformational life that Jesus Christ lived on Earth. Following this example, Dr. King carried the full armor of God into battle as he and the leaders of the civil rights movement led an historic, nonviolent struggle to right the wrongs of freedom and equality under the law that had eluded people of color since the founding of our Republic. Dr. King was joined by many faiths in the civil rights struggle, notably by rabbis and clergy from the Jewish community. This bond between the African-American and Jewish communities flows naturally from a shared experience of struggle, tragedy, and triumph. Let us never forget the words of Dr. King from that Birmingham jail that, “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” May we always remember, regardless of race, color or creed, that we are all in this together.

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