A bloody hate crime draws rabbis, Muslims together in mourning for slain 6-year-old boy

It just felt like the right thing to do.

A 6-year-old boy, stabbed 26 times, killed before he'd barely begun to live. But he was Muslim. And police say it was enough to drive his landlord to target him in a hate-fueled rampage.

That's why Ari Hart and four fellow rabbis from Chicago-area congregations went to the The Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Illinois, for the funeral of Wadea Al-Fayoume.

The attack, which also left the boy's mother seriously wounded, was motivated by the violent incursions into Israel by the Hamas militant group, authorities say.

Hart, senior rabbi at Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob, said he and the other rabbis who attended the funeral for the Palestinian-American boy Monday "believe in calling out hatred and terror and the murder of innocents."

"Hamas did that to us, and we call that out," said Hart, who's been with the Skokie, Illinois, synagogue since 2017. "At the same time, there is no place in the United States for terror and hatred in any form, and we stand against that."

Recognizing the sensitivity of the situation, Hart contacted local Muslim leaders before attending the boy's service, which was attended by hundreds of mourners. He asked if their presence could be "meaningful," and received a positive response.

"I give them a lot of credit, because it's not easy," Hart said, a self-described Orthodox Jew and Zionist. "These are our neighbors, and we have very different views about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians."

Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, didn't hesitate when Hart reached out.

"I told them we would treat them with respect. They are guests, and we can hash out our political differences another day," Rehab said.

While condemning the murder of an innocent child is "an easy bar," and noting the Muslim community in Illinois is wavering "between fear, frustration and outrage" over media coverage and the suffering in Gaza, Rehab said: "we stand for humanity."

Hart agreed whatever differences exist between the Muslim and Jewish communities in the U.S., "there's a basic humanity that we need to stand up for. Terrorism against children is wrong. Islamophobia is wrong."

He said the rabbis' presence at Wadea's funeral seemed appreciated.

"Many, many people came up to us and expressed their heartbreak, and ... we expressed our heartbreak," Hart said. "We told them that we represented thousands of Jewish people who are horrified and disgusted at what happened" to the child and his mother.

Hart, who lived in Israel and has friends and family there, acknowledged emotions are raw. He's on the phone daily with congregants and loved ones in the U.S. and in Israel.

"My entire community is in deep pain," he said. "None of us are sleeping, we can't stop thinking about what's going on ... it's an attack on the basic human right to live."

Described as "an activist rabbi" on his synagogue's website, Hart said he believes human connections are vital, and it's important to listen and share with people who have different points of view.

"At the end of the day, we're all human beings," he said. "At the end of the day, we have to find a way for our children to live together in peace." 

Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra