Jewish communities offer solidarity to Muslim counterparts

The Chief Rabbi this week led a coalition of senior faith leaders in a powerful call for unity and understanding in the wake of widespread race riots across Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis, along with other prominent figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of Westminster and two senior Muslim leaders, signed a letter, published in Tuesday’s Times newspaper, urging “constructive and compassionate dialogue on immigration and social cohesion”. The group added that they have “watched in horror as a small minority has brought hatred, violence and vandalism to towns and cities across the country” in behaviour that amounts to “a stain on our national moral conscience”.

In Southport, the “small but tight-knit”  Jewish community has said prayers and taken part in the town’s vigil for those killed and wounded in last week’s tragic knife attack on a children’s dance class.

Victor Isenwater, chair of Southport Hebrew Congregation, told Jewish News: “It is a difficult time for the Southport community right now. Although, thank God, none of our members or our families are victims of the tragedy, we are all impacted by the horror inflicted on our community last week. Our hearts go out to the families of the bereaved and the injured.

“We have contacted our members to ensure that they feel safe and have asked if they need any support. On Shabbat in shul we recited special prayers. We pray that the injured make a full and speedy recovery.

“We attended the vigil on Tuesday to remember the victims”.

Mr Isenwater added that the community, which has had good relations with Southport’s mosque and its imam, had sent a message to the chair of the mosque and had written formally from the community to offer support. He said: “We have good relations with the mosque and for several years the imam has spoken at the Holocaust Memorial Day service, which we help to organise. Inter-community relations are important to us and we don’t need people stoking tensions at this difficult time”.

The Southport Jewish community is donating funds to the Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool which has been treating those injured in the attack.

In the wake of the Southport deaths, there have been outbreaks of far-right riots and attacks on Muslims, all over the country. Jewish communal organisations have expressed their horror at the violence on Britain’s streets, though Simon Myerson, KC, who chairs the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, warned that “Jewish triumphalism” about attacks on Muslims was reprehensible. He said: “I would expect the majority of the Jewish community to say to British Muslims, we know how this feels and we stand ready to help you in any way we can”.

The president of the Board of Deputies, Phil Rosenberg, said he “unequivocally condemned the lawlessness and thuggery we have seen on our streets in recent days.

In a statement, he said: “Attacks on Muslims, Black people, members of other minorities, and our brave police officers, are totally unacceptable, and we stand in solidarity with everyone affected.

“As a society, we have to be better than this. We need a national conversation about how we promote respect for our country and respect for each other, and how about we tackle extremism and build cohesion. The Board of Deputies will play its full part in this effort.”

The Community Security Trust (CST) also issued a statement, saying it “utterly condemns the violent disorder seen in several towns and cities today that have followed the devastating tragedy in Southport earlier this week.

“The targeting of Muslims and other minorities is appalling and the violence directed at police officers is disgraceful. Nothing can ever justify this kind of behaviour and we fully support the police, government and our partners in other communities in their response to these divisive protests. Our thoughts are with the officers and communities affected”.

HIAS+JCORE, the Jewish community organisation which works with asylum seekers and refugees, also condemned the week’s “awful scenes in Rotherham and Tamworth”.

In its statement, the organisation said: “Vicious far-right attacks against hotels housing people seeking asylum, mosques, and minorities on the street, are also an assault on our society. Their violence and racism cannot — and will not — represent the UK. These appalling events must not be allowed to happen again”.

But, HIAS+JCORE added: “We also need to be clear: these riots did not happen in a vacuum. They come after years of demonisation and dehumanisation of displaced people, Muslims, and other minorities. Politicians and the media must communicate responsibly and reject narratives which sow division. As an organisation led by Jewish values and history — including our own refugee experience in the UK — we know all too well about where this rhetoric leads, and the impact it can have.

“We stand in full solidarity with minorities who have been left terrified by these events, and with local people around the UK who refuse to let the far-right divide their communities. And as a country, we must ensure that refugees feel welcomed, committing to a more positive, compassionate narrative to stand against the far-right’s intimidation and fear.”

The nearest Jewish community to Rotherham, in Yorkshire, where there was a high level of violence, is Sheffield. Jane Ginsborg, from Sheffield Reform’s Seven Hills synagogue, said her congregation had had good and positive relations for many years with the local Muslim community and there was involvement with Sheffield Interfaith.

She said: “We are appalled at the actions of the thugs in Rotherham and elsewhere. We have been saying that Islamophobia has become as big, or almost as big a problem, as antisemitism.” Members of her community took part in a city centre demonstration on Sunday organised by the Stand Up to Racism group.

In Manchester, where there were also street riots led by far-right extremists, Mark Adlestone, chair of the Manchester Jewish Representative Council, said: “I completely deplore the appalling scenes that have taken place on our streets over the last week. It is unacceptable to everyone in the Jewish community that people are being targeted based on their race or religion. As chair of Mustard Tree, a Greater Manchester-based charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers, tackling homeless, poverty and long term unemployment, this situation especially saddens me. I also would like to emphasise how I stand in solidarity with the brave officers from Greater Manchester police who have worked tirelessly to maintain order.

“This week has further highlighted the need for proper engagement between our different communities. We must all stand united to combat the hatred directed by the far right and work to build a cohesive and tolerant society”.

Several faith leaders, including Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen and Rabbi Warren Elf, have taken part in a solidarity visit to the Khizra Mosque in Manchester. Rabbi Ashworth-Steen is co-chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis and Cantors in the UK, while Rabbi Elf combines a Manchester career as a maths teacher at north Manchester’s Bury Grammar School, with a separate role as leader of Southend Reform Synagogue.

The visit was co-ordinated by MINAB – the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board.

The visitors spoke of their horror at the fatal knife attack in Southport, mourned the loss of innocent children and shared their thoughts and prayers for the families and survivors. They then stressed the need for communities to come together in this time of grief, and condemned those who seek to use these awful events to divide communities.

Rabbi Robyn said: “The tragic loss of such young lives is horrific. Since that traumatic day, we have seen that violence begets violence.

“I want to show the importance of people from all faiths coming together to implore that anger is not turned into further violence nor fear projected onto scapegoats. Instead, there must be a commitment to holding space for grief and solidarity with those in the community in Southport who are in deep pain.”

Harlow Jewish community also expressed solidarity via Twitter/X, saying: “We have sent a message of support to the Muslim community in Harlow. We echo the comment of the Board of Deputies.”