Jewish solidarity with Muslims over the Trump ban is widespread and powerful

Jewish groups across the U.S. are raising their voices in protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban", countering a stereotypical narrative of animosity between the two communities.

The American president signed the executive order banning refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries on Holocaust Remembrance Day. This was seen by many Jews as a personal slap in the face to the memory of their communities suffering.

The Jewish group J Street said that the order evoked "horrible memories among American Jews of the shameful period leading up to World War II," in a press release.

Jewish Voice for Peace, a group opposing Israeli occupation and apartheid, vowed to fight against Trump's order.

"We pledge to resist in every way that we can. We’ll put our hearts, souls, and bodies on the line to stop hateful and racist attacks," the organization said in a statement.

In November, following Trump's election, the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America launched the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, a group of religious and business leaders from both communities who will help draft domestic policy legislation and advocate on issues of shared concern.

Trump's campaign rhetoric was overtly Islamophobic but also featured comments that alarmed the Jewish community. Trump's promotion of Stephen Bannon, a prominent white nationalist who has espoused anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim views, has alarmed Jewish Americans as well as Muslims. Commentators have suggested that Bannon pulls the strings in Trump's administration, calling him the "de facto president."

As a result, many rabbis, synagogues and individual American Jews have joined protests throughout the country, standing in solidarity with the Muslim community.

While the issue of Israel and Palestine often dominates the narrative of Jewish and Muslim relations in the international and Western media, the reality is somewhat different for the two communities in the U.S.

During the campaign, many Muslims strongly supported Bernie Sanders, a Jewish senator who ran against Hillary Clinton in the presidential primaries. Although he is Jewish, he voiced the strongest support for the Muslim community and the greatest criticism against the actions of the Israeli government.

Muslims represent just 1 percent of the American population and a large number of these live in Dearborn, Michigan. In the presidential primaries, Michigan voted for Sanders with nearly 60 percent of Dearborn supporting the Jewish senator.

"His voice is consistent and credible for many younger Muslim voters," Dalia Mogahed, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, told CNN.

Notably, despite being Jewish, Sanders declined an invitation to speak at the annual conference of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), an extremely powerful pro-Israel lobby group in the U.S. 

Clinton and Trump attended and both gave glowing speeches at the conference, praising the state of Israel. Sanders delivered a speech in Utah on the same day critical of the state of Israel.

As one American voter pointed out, Muslim Americans don't have a problem with Jews.

"I think it's disappointing that the only time the Arab and Muslim vote has gotten this much media attention in the general election is due to the perception that Arabs and Muslims would not vote for a Jewish candidate," Farah Erzouki, a graduate student in Michigan told CNN.