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| Promoting interfaith relations
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The Board of Deputies of British Jews has appointed an interfaith officer to promote understanding between Jews and members of other faiths.
Miriam Kaye, the new interfaith officer, was selected by Britain’s leading representative body of the Jewish Community, which sees her role as being “of crucial importance.”
Kaye previously coordinated a Muslim-Jewish women’s dialogue group in Cambridge (MoJoW) and spent time in government, at the Home Office researching Muslim-Jewish relations on university campus.
Board chief executive, Jon Benjamin, explained: “This is an important move for the Board and the community.
“In any event, but particularly following the London bombings, the need for the sound channels of communication within the wide spectrum of faiths in the UK is evident.”
Grassroots activities
The Board, which was established in 1760, is already engaged in interfaith initiatives such as the Three Faiths Forum, which promotes understanding between members of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths. It was set up by Sir Sigmund Sternberg, a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Reverend Marcus Braybrooke and Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi OBE.
Alongside such existing initiatives, Kaye will be carrying out a mapping exercise to find out how interfaith communication is being promoted at grassroots level, be it by synagogues and other places of worship, schools or other groups.
“These contacts should not be confined to high level delegations,” Benjamin added, “but extended to day-to-day contacts at all levels to explain who we are and what matters to us as a community.”
To demonstrate the importance of communication at all levels, Benjamin pointed to the fact that the Maimonides foundation, which seeks to promote understanding between Jews and Muslims, has an interfaith football league. It is projects such as these which will now be recorded.
Break down barriers
The Board is keen to get the collaboration of different Jewish communities so that they appreciate the priority of its work and help to break down barriers that can lead to misunderstanding.
Kaye is interested in hearing from members of the community about any existing projects or dialogue groups.
“Our relationship with other religious communities is crucial,” she said, “and this new focus will promote interfaith relations as well as raising awareness within the Jewish community itself.”
“It is easy for me to get together with my counterparts [in other communities],” continued Benjamin, “but the grassroots is incredibly important, whether in business or in interfaith personal relationships, and a great deal can be achieved through them.”
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