Toby Helm
The Observer / October 5, 2024
Muslim and Jewish figures join archbishop in first act of high-level solidarity
Muslim and Jewish leaders today unite around an unprecedented joint statement calling the assaults on Israel on 7 October last year “brutal Hamas terrorist attacks” that led to a “devastating war in Gaza and beyond” which together have caused “horrific” human suffering.
Joined by the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in the first high-level act of inter-faith solidarity in the year-long conflict, they say in a letter to the Observer: “Our faiths and our humanity teach us that we should mourn for all the innocent people who have lost their lives.
“In these challenging times we must also reject those who seek to divide us. Anti-Jewish hate and anti-Muslim hate have no place in the UK today. We must stand together against prejudice and hate in all its forms.”
The signatories include chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and chair of the Mosques and Imams Advisory Board Imam Qari Muhammad Asim MBE.
The intervention was welcomed as an important moment after many months in which leaders of different faiths have felt unable to speak with one voice.
It comes on the eve of Monday’s first anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks on southern Israel in which more than 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. The ensuing invasion of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including at least 16,000 children.
Rabbi Charley Baginsky, one of the two co-leads of Progressive Judaism, said: “In the last year it’s been incredibly difficult for faith leaders to speak with one voice. That is why this letter is so important – a collective recognition of each other’s pain and a steadfast commitment to fight prejudice together.”
The faith leaders add: “As people of faith from Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in the UK, while we may hold different views about aspects of the conflict, we stand united in our grief and in our belief that or shared humanity must bring us together.”
Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition, said: “This is a major intervention on the eve of the anniversary by the country’s most senior faith leaders. Their ability to come together and recognise each other’s grief at a moment of great pain and escalation in the region is the leadership we need. Over the last year antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in this country have sky-rocketed – this letter is a critical commitment to work together to tackle both together.”
To mark the one-year anniversary of 7 October, a special poll of 2,000 Britons by Ipsos Mori on attitudes to the current Israeli-Gaza conflict found more people believe Israel is most to blame for the current conflict (30%) than Hamas (27%).
The findings are evidence of a shift in attitudes since last year. Previous polling, conducted in October 2023, found Britons were almost twice as likely to hold Hamas principally responsible as the Israeli government.
Just 8% of British people believe the UK should “support” Israel in the conflict. Ipsos Mori’s findings showed some division along age lines. Among over 55s, 13% think that UK should support Israel, and 6% the Palestinians. However, among 18 to 34-year-olds, 5% think that UK should support Israel, and 31% the Palestinians.
Over a third (35%) believe the prime minister, Keir Starmer, has done a bad job of responding to the conflict. Six out of 10 Britons consider Israel’s military actions to have gone too far in Gaza.
Sympathy runs higher for Palestinian citizens with 83% saying they are concerned for them, compared with 69% for Israeli citizens.
Toby Helm is The Observer‘s political editor
