Jewish and Muslim women unite in tears and hope to 'stop hate on our streets'

Six Muslim and six Jewish women met at St John’s Church in Waterloo to talk about the impact the conflict in the Middle East is having on communities in the UK

A gathering of Jewish and Muslim women took place to commemorate the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, aiming to help “stop the hate on (Britain’s) streets”.

In a meeting at St John’s Church in Waterloo, six Muslim and six Jewish women talked about the toll the Middle East conflict is taking on UK communities. The event, hailed as a "safe space" by its organisers, saw participants share their feelings of "exhaustion", "pain", and "suffering", often with tears, but they also spoke of "hope" and "gratitude" born from such acts of solidarity.

The co-founders of the Nisa-Nashim Jewish and Muslim Women’s Network, Julie Siddiqi, a Muslim, and Laura Marks, who is Jewish, described the meet-up as a powerful symbol of interfaith harmony and a stand against being forced to choose sides. Ms Marks commented: "One year on and here we are: The world feels a worse place.

"Our responsibility is to ensure we do everything to stop the hate on our streets, to make them feel safe for our children, for our grandchildren so that the world can actually become a safer place for them to be. That can only be done if you do it together. Today was a day to come together and to be as one. It sounds simplistic, but the world is so polarised."

She added: "Nobody can hear anybody else’s views. Nobody can hear another narrative. Everybody’s so hurt, so upset, and everybody’s taken one side or the other, and that’s not helpful. Here, we don’t have to hate. We mustn’t hate. We must come together. We must build a society here which is safe, where our children can grow up, where there’s no hate because you’re Muslim, hate because you’re Jewish, and people live together in harmony. And this was our small gesture, our small way of doing that."

Members were encouraged to share their emotions and insights on the situation unfolding in the Middle East and its effects on them and their local communities. The feelings of "determination" to progress were strong among many, while some spoke with tears about how the tragic loss of young lives in the region profoundly impacted them as mothers and grandmothers.

Ms Siddiqi said: "We heard it all today. None of it surprised me. People were talking about literally being exhausted. It’s been a very heavy year. We listen to lots of pain, fear, anxiety, and all of that was talked about today. And I’m so grateful to the women for being brave."

"Some of them have faced backlash, me included. I’ve lost friends over this. It’s not easy but it just feels right and for us to be able to find spaces to own all of the pain. I connect with mothers whose sons were taken hostage."

"Why would I not? For me, this idea that we somehow have to sit in this camp or this camp just doesn’t resonate with me, and all of us said the same today. We need to not allow extreme voices to be the only voices, the loud voices that often try to divide more than connect."

"None of us are saying that we have to agree on everything, but it’s so important for us to stand against hatred together and not be made to feel that we have to pick sides, or we have to only sit in this box or this box."

During the event, participants engaged in "sacred contemplation" as well as a moment of silence and candle lighting to honour those who have passed away or remain displaced and missing. Dr Shabina Qayyum, who provided vital medical support in the aftermath of the 7/7 terror attacks, underscored the critical need for safe, open spaces for dialogue within London and beyond.

She said: "I have found that the discourse in having conversations around this particular topic has been incredibly challenging and hostile. We need to be able to have a space where that anger is taken out of the situation and to recognise that we live in a hugely diverse country that is made up of so many faith groups and those that have none, and the anger that stems from something that’s happening thousands of miles away resonates with so many pockets of our community."

"Indeed there have been protests, but isn’t it time for people to come to the table, wise heads, and speak about the solutions in a peaceful manner? That’s what we’re here for. As an ethnic minority woman who is a Muslim, it’s important to find a space where I can say it is OK to grieve the loss of life on one side, and it is absolutely OK to grieve loss of life on the other side without being ostracised for it."

She added: "It’s been a place of comfort, and actually it’s lifted a weight off my shoulders. I hope that we can develop many more spaces like this."

The event followed pro-Palestinian protests in London and Edinburgh on Saturday, where the Met Police confirmed at least 17 arrests. Two people were arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, one of which included a protester wearing what appeared to be a parachute, and there were eight arrests on suspicion of public order offences, four of which were allegedly racially aggravated.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, three arrested on suspicion of common assault and one person was arrested on suspicion of breaching a Public Order Act condition.