British Jews and Muslims call for Middle East peace

Leaders from the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BoD) and Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) have issued a joint statement calling for their followers to "export peace" to the Middle East, as the dust settles on the recent crisis in Gaza.

The statement acknowledged the two communities had "deeply-held views" about the origins of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, but denounced all civilian casualties and expressed hope for a lasting peace.

The two groups also used the statement to condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Britain and around the world, and called on Muslims and Jews to "get to know one another".

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The call for peace follows Israel and Hamas agreeing to a "permanent" ceasefire following 50 days of fighting in Gaza that left 2,200 people dead.

The statement said: "There is no doubt that Muslims and Jews have deeply held views about the conflict in Israel and Palestine. We acknowledge that our communities may disagree about the origins, current reasons and solutions to end the conflict. But there are also points of agreement.

"The death of every civilian is a tragedy, and every effort should be taken to minimise such losses. The targeting of civilians is completely unacceptable and against our religious traditions. We pray for a speedy end to the current conflict and for a lasting peace for all.

"In spite of the situation in the Middle East, we must continue to work hard for good community relations in the UK. We must not import conflict. We must export peace instead."

The statement was drawn up by the BoD and MCB in a spirit of interfaith harmony, but reports suggest there was disagreement over the section concerning civilian deaths.

The Jewish Chronicle newspaper says that the two groups differed over a line in the statement which reads: "The targeting of civilians is completely unacceptable and against our religious traditions."

An MCB spokeswoman told the paper that the line "refers to both sides, Israel and Hamas". But a representative for the BoD disagreed saying: "We are very clear that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) does not target civilians - that's why we felt able to sign it."