Jews condemn European Commission & Parliament for snubbing Hindus

May 14, 2009 - PRLog -- Jews have strongly criticized European Commission & Parliament for ignoring Hindus in the interfaith gathering on May 11 in Brussels to discuss ethical contributions for economic governance.

Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California, supporting the cause spearheaded by acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement said that Commission and Parliament leaders should study their constitutions carefully to find the words “equality” and “fairness” written somewhere and grasp their meaning.

Rabbi Freirich argued that it was not the job of Commission and Parliament to prefer one religion over the other or ignore some of those completely in interreligious gatherings. Commission and Parliament officials needed to go back to school to take “Comparative Religion 101” and “Interfaith Relations” classes.

The Jewish leader further said, “How could one ignore Hinduism, which is one of the oldest religions of the world with about one billion followers and a presence in every country of Europe? Hindus have made many positive contributions to the European community and believe in peaceful coexistence.”

Rabbi Freirich stressed that Commission and Parliament officials should write to Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, apologizing for this mistake and unfair treatment and assuring that unethical practices like this would not exist in future.

European Commission and Parliament reportedly invited only Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders in this interfaith discussion on “Economic and financial crisis: ethical contributions for European and global economic governance", co-chaired by Commission President José Manuel Barroso, and Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering.