Out of persecution can emerge mutual understanding, as the blossoming relationship between New Mexico's Navajo and Jewish communities is demonstrating.
This month, representatives from the two groups met in Albuquerque to compare histories and learn from each other's struggles.
According to Gordon Bronitsky, one of the organisers of the meeting, Native Americans and the Jewish diaspora have much in common, from their efforts to preserve their languages and religious practices to their battle to secure a land for their people.
Mr Bronitsky said: "In the same way that the land of Israel is a key component of Judaism, many tribes have lands that have considerable sacred importance."
