“We can’t pick the facts of the world, but we can choose how we react to them.”

That was the message on Monday from Washington Hebrew Congregation’s Senior Rabbi Bruce Lustig. Here at American University, he and Akbar Ahmed—Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United Kingdom—discussed ways to help improve Jewish-Muslim relations.

So what does it mean to choose how we react to the facts of the world? We can’t make hatred go away—we have no control over that—but we have complete control over our response to it.

Ambassador Ahmed encouraged the crowd to act humbly, instead of speaking in terms of an “us” and a “you,” which creates tension by creating an “other.”

Rabbi Lustig and Ambassador Ahmed have worked closely together since the tragedies of September 11^th, 2001. They created the first Abrahamic Summit here in Washington, D.C.  The duo also collaborated together to start a 9/11 Unity Walk, which has become an annual interfaith walk down Massachusetts Avenue, incorporating all the city’s major religious denominations. It’s all about breaking down the walls of the “other.”

And it’s a unique time to start breaking down these walls. Islam is being demonized like never before, and anti-Semitism is as prevalent as ever. We need an army of peacemakers who can go out into the world and start an interfaith dialogue; Ahmed and Lustig are perfect prototypes for us to turn to. Perhaps the most eloquent moment of the entire evening was when Rabbi Lustig referenced the Qur’an, saying, “The pen and the ink are much stronger than the sword.”

This is a message to us. No matter what religion, race, or ethnicity, we all are members of the larger human race. To paraphrase an old Hasidic Jewish tale, the only difference between the east and west is one step. Take the step to turn around and face to the west if you’re leaning to the east, or vice versa, and you will have made the quintessential step in seeing the other side right in the eyes. Then reach out, shake hands, and create peace with your fellow brothers.

Photo by Jonathan Hayden. From left to right: Rabbi Lustig, ABC News correspondent John Donovan, and Ambassador Ahmed.