Oct. 7, 2023, was the turning point for Anila Ali, who was dismayed to hear people celebrating the Hamas attack on Israel.
The women’s rights activist took a stand, knowing she would lose the support of loved ones and friends. The founding president of the American Muslim and Multifaith Empowerment Council, she led a delegation of fellow Muslim women to Israel to bear witness to the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7.
For the past 20 months, Ali has worked with Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, to shed light on Hamas’ “weaponization of sexual violence on and after Oct. 7” and advocate for justice, according to Carol Ann Schwartz, the national president of Hadassah.
“Anila is a woman of extraordinary courage who is committed to building bridges to peace,” Schwartz wrote in a statement. “Over the past two years, we have worked together to empower women across our faith communities to speak out against sexual violence and hatred. I am proud to call Anila a friend and to recognize her as one of Hadassah’s ‘18 American Zionist Women You Should Know.’”
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Ali is the first Muslim woman to be recognized among Hadassah’s annual list, which is in its third year.
“I’m very proud and I’m honored,” she said.
Ali’s solidarity with the Jewish community began after Sept. 11, 2001, when she took up the charge against border profiling and anti-Muslim discrimination.
“After 9/11 the Jewish people stood by us like a rock,” Ali wrote in a June 8 post on X.
She fought back against the conspiracy theorists who claimed that Jews were responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks: “That was the beginning of the big battle: good versus evil.”
But it wasn’t always easy. Many organizations didn’t like the fact that Ali was speaking up, adding that those who publicly supported “Israel and the Jewish people” faced harassment, discrimination, ostracization and even abuse.
“At that time, we decided it was all or nothing — that if we were going to stand, we were going to stand as fierce Muslim leaders, that we’re going to call a spade a spade,” Ali said. “As we’re doing that, fighting antisemitism … all of a sudden, Oct. 7 happened and all hell broke loose.”
Ali said it was concerning to hear people saying “the Jews deserved” the Hamas attack.
“The worst was that people were celebrating that: ‘Now the Jewish people are going to feel what we feel,’” she said.
After hearing denial of the events of Oct. 7 — “It never happened; the Jews made it up” and “there was no rape” — Ali brought a delegation of Muslim lay leaders, journalists and friends to Israel to bear witness to what happened. This trip was far from Ali’s first time visiting Israel — she had traveled there over the past 15 years with The Olive Tree Initiative, an interfaith peace-building effort for college students.
“Through her leadership, Anila unites women from different religions, cultures and nationalities to build understanding and to fight all forms of hate,” Diana Diner, a Zionist educator for Hadassah, wrote in a statement.
“[AMMWEC] is the first Muslim organization right now that is on the front lines of fighting antisemitism, and it’s majority Muslim, and we are honored to do that,” Ali said. “We’re proud to do that with our Abrahamic brothers and sisters. Antisemitism is against my religion.”
She hopes that by raising awareness of what occurred on Oct. 7, more people will listen and think critically: “I bear witness to the hate.”
A self-proclaimed “proud Zionist,” Ali said the religious text of Islam recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
“In the Qur’an, it says very clearly that God asked Moses to enter the Promised Land, and it says ‘the land of the children of Israel.’ It’s 43 times mentioned in the Qur’an: ‘the children of Israel,’ ‘the land of Israel,’” Ali said. “There is no mention of Palestine.”
Palestine’s land was named “Syria Palaestina” by the Romans in the second century and known by different names throughout history, according to Britannica.
Ali added that some fellow Muslims have “been enlightened” and now support the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements between Israel and several Arab nations.
She also drew from the Qur’an to supplement her ongoing interfaith work.
“Look at the history — when we work together, we are going to flourish,” Ali said. “We worship the same God, and why should we be taught to hate them?”
She said it’s a “huge honor” to be recognized by Hadassah and that her efforts aren’t over.
“It means we have to do even more to be like Hadassah,” Ali said. “I have more responsibility now.”
