http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/971862.html
Rabbi:
Jews, more than anyone,
helped black Americans achieve equality

By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: Rabbi Marc Shneier

American Orthodox Rabbi Marc Shneier
on Friday spoke at a ceremony marking
40 years since the assassination of
U.S. Civil Rights leader Reverend
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.,
and championed American Jews'
support of African Americans
during the Civil Rights struggle,
saying no community in the United
States did more to support Dr. King
and the struggle for equality for
African Americans.

Rabbi Shneier,
an Orthodox Rabbi at
two New York synagogues,

was the only Jewish leader who
took part in the ceremony in Memphis,
held a short distance from the Memphis
motel where King was mortally wounded
by a sniper's bullet while standing
on a balcony.

Shneier said the event was an
opportunity to commemorate the
"famous historical alliance between
African Americans and Jews in the
United States."

Shneier has long championed greater
ties between the communities,
and wrote the book "Shared Dreams"
together with Dr. King's son Martin
Luther King III on the subject of
the Jewish-Black alliance in the
United States.

Last August, Schneier made news
when he joined with hip-hop impresario
Russell Simmons to produce a short film
to combat negative stereotypes of Muslims.

Several months earlier, Schneier and Simmons,
the founder of Def Jam records, produced a
short film on anti-Semitism which was shown
in schools across the United States.

The film featured appearances by
rap stars such as Jay-Z, and was
widely considered a success.

Schneier and Simmons are
co-presidents of the Foundation
for Ethnic Understanding,
which works to improve relations
between Jews and other minorities
in the United States.

Since its founding in 1989,
the foundation has been particularly
successful in improving relations
between American Jewish and black
communities.

According to Schneier,
the fund has since turned its
focus to improving relations
between American Jews and Hispanics.