“Shattered Glass, Shattered Lives: Service in Remembrance of Kristallnacht,
the Holocaust, and Contemporary Persecutions Around the World”
Presented by the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations and Temple Emanuel
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Temple Emanuel of Andover
Rabbi Robert Goldstein presiding ~ Dr. Mehnaz Afridi preaching
Student responses from Dr. Joseph Kelley’s “Christianity in Context” class
“For years I was extremely resentful to most all Muslims. My aunt was killed in the attacks on September
11, 2001, so I never really learned how to aim my anger towards only the ones responsible for the attack. I
placed my anger against a group of people instead of aiming it where it should have been. Over the years
as I have matured I have learned to drop my misplaced anger and mover forward. Professor Mehnaz’s
speech was the most interesting part of the service because it made me realize how awful it was of me to
be so angry at a group of people who did absolutely nothing wrong. It was a terrorist group that killed my
aunt, not the innocent Muslim people. Hearing her talk about how deeply she was affected by the
harassment she received all over the world just because she was a Muslim was heartbreaking. It really
made me reflect on how I used to act.”
~ Kyle Daly ‘18
“One part that hit me the most was a woman who was sitting in front of me during the ceremony. She was
sitting all by herself. I couldn’t tell if she was a member of the temple or not. It seemed to me that she was
because she was very involved. I couldn’t help but watch her. Dr. Mehnaz Afridi shared the story about
the man who had survived the concentration camps and watched his family members be killed. While she
was sharing these stories the woman got really emotional. I don’t think that I could ever get that image out
of my head. To this day the Holocaust still affects millions of people around the world. It had never
crossed my mind until that very moment. I have only read about it in books or heard about it on TV. I
never had first-hand experience of the effect that the Holocaust has on people, until Tuesday when I
watched that woman.”
~ Autumn Dubel ‘19
“I see Dr. Afridi as a role model. No matter what people think about her, she will keep striving to do what
she loves to do. She loves to educate and to expand people’s knowledge. If I were in her position, I would
probably have listened to my family and friends and not have studied the history of the Holocaust and
educate others about it. Her determination and brave character are traits I hope to strive for through my
academics and through life.”
~ Lizzy Reid ‘19
“Listening to Dr. Mehnaz Afridi talk about her life experiences made me realize how tough of a life it was
to be a woman of Muslim descent. She used to get kicked in soccer solely because of her ethnic
background. Also, after all of her hard work in life to better the troubles between the Jewish and Muslim
communities, she and her family were the focus of many threats. This matter had a personal effect on me
because I lived only two blocks away from the [Boston] Marathon bombers. I heard the gunshots when
Officer Sean Collier was shot in cold blood inside his MIT cruiser. One line that particularly stuck with
me is how people have the misconception that every person of Muslim descent is a terrorist or radical.
Honestly, I have found myself falling into this racial profiling without really meaning to at all. However,
after listening to her talk about her life and all the hardships she endured, I realized that you can’t judge a
book by its cover.”
~ Camron Monagle ‘19
“The one part of the ceremony most meaningful to me was near the end when the rabbi began to speak
about the interfaith event itself. He brought up the fact that the event was taking place in a Jewish
synagogue with its community, with students from a Catholic College, listening to a Muslim speaker. He
noted that all three religions were in that room, in peace, and that this could be the future. Rather than the
constant fighting amongst these religions, there is the possibility for peace.”
~ Ryan McIsaac ‘19
“As a Muslim woman, Dr. Afridi faced bigotry and harassment starting at a young age. This came as
somewhat of a realization to me because my best friend, sitting next to me in the synagogue, is Muslim as
well. I suppose before this point it had never occurred to me that someone may bully her for her beliefs one
day. Immediately, I had a high respect for Dr. Afridi, with all the obstacles she had to face, even as a
child.”
~ Madison Fotino ‘19
“This was my first time ever going to any Jewish service. Before the visit, I was talking with my mother
and I learned that I have a bit of Jewish family history. My grandmother on my father’s side of the family
was Jewish but her mother wanted her to pick a different religion because of World War II. So after
studying a variety of religions, she decided to become a Quaker. It’s an interesting choice that I had no clue
was part of my family history, so it was cool to be able to understand my family history from this visit.”
~ Erick Uhl ‘19
“What affected me the most was the words spoken by [Samuel Tankel ’19, quoting Martin Niemoeller, a
German Christian pastor who spent seven years in a concentration camp]:
‘First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.’”
~ Jessica Mermelstein ‘19