New Day Fellowship

Art and Action

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We’ll talk about Moses and art. Our goal is to stand up to Pharaohs of the age.
For millennial Jews and Muslims committed to making this world a better place.

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Story of the Fellowship

We are New Yorkers. We choose to live and work in one of the most diverse cities in the world. The daily interactions with people and cultures that are different than us makes us better people and better citizens.

We are people of faith. Our faith drives us to make the places we live better. It is a commandment from our God, and it is a responsibility of being part of a community.

We thought about how we could be better and do better, loving God and loving our city.

We immediately fell upon the story of Moses. His love of God and his love of his people caused him to give up a life of comfort for a life of action.

We do not claim to be Moses. However, for all of us, whether Jewish or Muslim, Moses is an inspiring figure. His story is one worth learning and thinking about, as an inspiration.

We all love beauty, and New York has some of the most amazing cultural institutions of any city in the world, including the art on its streets.

We decided to take the things that we all liked — scripture, art, the city — and create a program that encourages moral clarity in action for the social good.

We mix textual study, with artistic engagement, and faithful reasoning in the space of New York.

We hope to see the world in a new way and help create a new day, without any Pharaohs.

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About Us

Michelle Koch

Michelle Koch is the Executive Director of the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee. She studied music theory and audio engineering at Hunter College, the Aaron Copland School of Music, and the Institute of Audio Research. After more than a decade as a music teacher, she joined the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee at its infancy. She has been instrumental in its growth, the organization has now become a community of thousands. Michelle focuses her efforts on expanding programs and community outreach, creating volunteer opportunities, and speaking at events throughout NYC. One of her current initiatives is a program called Compassionate Conversations, to deepen relationships within the MJSC while addressing wide-spread issues facing our society today with respect and empathy. Michelle is a We Are All New York fellowship alumni. She recently relocated to Newburgh, NY with her better half and son.

Rabbi Ben Spratt

Ben Spratt serves as the Senior Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan and the Rabbi in Residence of Rodeph Sholom School. His Jewish journey took him through the Orthodox, Reconstructionist, and Renewal worlds; ordained in 2008 at the Jewish Theological Seminary of the Conservative movement, and now serving as a Reform rabbi, Ben’s passion continues to be building community beyond existent walls and boundaries. In 2009, Ben helped found Shireinu, an inclusion initiative for Jewish families with special needs, which now serves as a spiritual model for synagogues and churches around the country, and is co-chair of Inclusion and Disability Awareness for the Union of Reform Judaism.  In 2014, in partnership with Rabbi Josh Stanton of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, Ben co-founded Tribe, a joint initiative to engage Jewish Millennials through grassroots leadership and a community of empowerment.  In 2016, Ben partnered with Cantor Shayna De Lowe to reimagine the future of a large legacy congregation, and planted the seeds of Minyan, a small-group based approach to Jewish flourishing through connection.

Hussein Rashid, PhD

Hussein Rashid, PhD, is founder of islamicate, L3C, a consultancy focusing on religious literacy and cultural competency.

He works with a variety of NGOs, foundations, non-profits, and governmental agencies for content expertise on religion broadly, with a specialization on Islam. His work includes exploring theology, the interaction between culture and religion, and the role of the arts in conflict mediation.

Hussein has a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University, a Masters in Theological Studies focusing on Islam, and an MA and PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, focusing on South and Central Asia from Harvard University.

He is a contingent faculty member and has taught at Hofstra University, Fordham University, Iona College, Virginia Theological Seminary, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, SUNY Old Westbury, and Columbia University.

His research focuses on Muslims and American popular culture. He writes and speaks about music, comics, movies, and the blogistan. He also has a background in South and Central Asian studies, with a deep interest in Shi’i justice theology.

Rabbi Joshua Stanton

Joshua Stanton is Rabbi of East End Temple in Manhattan and a Senior Fellow at CLAL – The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He serves on the Board of Governors of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, which liaises on behalf of Jewish communities worldwide with the Vatican and other international religious bodies. Josh was is in the 2015 – 2016 cohort of Germanacos Fellows and part of the inaugural group of Sinai and Synapses Fellows from 2013 – 2015. Previously, Josh served as Associate Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey and before that as Associate Director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College and Director of Communications for the Coexist Foundation. He is a Founding Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Inter-Religious Studies, a publication that has enabled inter-religious studies to grow into an academic field of its own.

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Application

We are excited to have you apply to the program. Before you fill in the application, a couple of things to keep in mind:

  1. We ask for a commitment for all of our meetings dates:
    Sunday, September 30, 2018, 12-3PM
    Sunday, October 28, 2018, 12-3PM
    Sunday, November 11, 2018, 12-3PM
    Sunday, December 16, 2018, 12-3PM
    Sunday, January 13, 2019, 12-3PM
    Sunday February 10, 2019, 12-3PM
    Sunday, March 17, 2019, 12-3PM
    Sunday, April 21, 2019, 12-3PM
    Saturday, May 18, 7-10PM*
    (*this meeting is during Ramadan, and we will arrange an Iftar.)
    There are also two other potential meetings we will negotiate with accepted participants, if necessary.
  2. There is a program fee of $250 for accepted participants. This fee helps cover some of the costs associated with the program, and should not prevent anyone from applying and/or participating. If you are accepted into the program, and need financial consideration, you may speak confidentially to the organizers.
  3. All sessions will take place in New York City.
  4. The program is for people who identify as either Jewish or Muslim.
  5. Our target age range is 18-35.

You can find a link to the application here.

Applications are due July 4, 2018

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