As politicians continue to argue and the war in Gaza rages on, leaders from the Muslim and Jewish communities in Bradford held an interfaith iftar on Wednesday evening, to celebrate the diversity of this part of West Yorkshire.
Laurence Saffer, the president of the Leeds Jewish representative council, described the similarities between practising Islam and Judaism and said it was important to attend the iftar – the evening meal held by Muslims observing Ramadan – because “it’s what we do”.
Addressing the 80-strong audience at the community centre by the historic Lister Mills – the world’s largest silk factory at the height of the city’s industrial past – he said: “I talk about the elephant in the room, which is Israel and the Palestinians. We have to talk about what we believe. Because when the Jewish community talks and somebody asks me, ‘does the Jewish community believe that the Palestinians have the right to self determination?’, the answer is a resounding yes. We do. We fully support that.
“When members continue to ask, ‘do you believe that the Jewish people are entitled to self determination?’, the answer invariably is yes, we do. We respect your rights.
“Then we say: actually, what do we disagree about as people living here in the United Kingdom? It’s often things like borders or the status of Jerusalem – which, in reality, I don’t have any influence over and neither do our Muslim friends. So when we break it down and say the things that we don’t agree on, surely there’s very little.”
Bradford has one of the largest Muslim populations and one of the oldest Jewish communities in the UK. Rabbi Dr Joseph Strauss founded the Bradford synagogue in 1873; his great-grandson Richard Stroud, a trustee at the synagogue, was at the iftar. Leaders from the Sikh, Buddhist and Hindu communities joined as well as important community figures.
This year’s Ramadan began on 10 March and is due to end on 9 April, when Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the holy month will be held. During the month, Muslims fast – which involves abstaining from eating and drinking during daylight hours – as well as focus on self-improvement, self-reflection and giving to the less fortunate.
Safina Aziz, chair of the Professional Muslims Institute, urged people of all backgrounds to call out every form of hate, emphasising the long history of partnership between the Muslim and Jewish community.
“There are many personal ties between us, we have celebrated happy times together and stood together during challenging times,” she said. “We’re all very saddened by what’s happening in both Palestine and Israel. We stand together to express our shared commitment to protecting the relationship between our communities.”
Rabbi Natan Levy, head of operations at Strengthening Faith Institutions, hailed the success of the city’s first interfaith iftar and said he hoped renewed dialogue could allow people to realise that “we have forgotten to listen to stories, we have forgotten to understand that to love another person we must know what hurts them and know how they suffer”.
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Ismail Patel, a Muslim from Bradford, said he liked to recognise people from different backgrounds, from the Jewish community to the Hindu community, and found it fascinating to go to their different places of worship.
He pointed to Bradford cathedral’s faith trail, in which visits to local temples, churches and mosques take place on a Saturday before a meal is shared as a sign of enduring community.
A resident in the city for 18 years, Patel said events in Gaza had affected Bradford politically. “Many people here are upset with Labour’s position over Gaza – I can see a lot of votes going to the independents during the election.”
Last October, the Labour councillors Sarfraz Nazir and Taj Salam resigned from the party over Keir Starmer’s comments on the Israel-Hamas war and joined the Bradford Independent group. They will stand in local elections on 2 May.