‘We can’t live behind walls’: Muslim-Jewish networks will not give up after Golders Green attack
‘I feel punch drunk,” says Laura Marks, the co-founder of Nisa-Nashim, a Jewish-Muslim women’s network, referring to the alleged attempted murder of two Jewish men in north London this week: “Every day it feels like there is something else.It’s relentless.”Nisa-Nashim was set up as a charity eight years ago to bring Jewish and Muslim women together through social events.The idea was to nurture relationships in UK communities that could help overcome the distrust, division and religious stereotyping exacerbated by Israel-Palestine tensions in the Middle East.The violence in Golders Green, the latest in a wave attacks targeting the Jewish community in the UK amid the deepening Middle East conflict, can feel like a demoralising rebuke to voluntary projects such as Nisa-Nashim that for years have been working relentlessly for community cohesion.
“I do sometimes despair,” says Marks, a former advertising executive with years of social activism under her belt.But she does not intend to give up.“I’m an optimist.If I don’t believe I can make things a bit better, then what am I doing? But it is difficult.”It is not primarily the Golders Green-style violence, perpetrated by individuals almost certainly indifferent to persuasion, that is the cause of her despair, she says: “A lot of this work is not designed to address extreme radicalisation, when a bit of hanging out together is not going to make any difference.
”Rather it is the challenge posed by the malign effects of local violence and the wider conflict: a ratcheting up of fear, suspicion and distrust.The aim, says Marks, is to try to see “beyond conflict: to help ordinary Jews and Muslims acknowledge their similarities as well as their differences, whether culture, history, scripture or food”.The 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, and the subsequent conflict in Gaza, made this work much more difficult, says Marks.As the Gaza crisis grew, support for Nisa-Nashim waned.Some volunteers were put off by online abuse or extremist threats, some were demoralised, and others were dissuaded by their families.
The immediate priority is community safety, she says.“Right now, all people [in the Jewish community] can hear is walls, police, security.I understand that.It’s like a hierarchy of needs: if we are not safe, we can’t do anything else.But long term we can’t live behind walls.
We have to build bridges,”Mohammed Amin, the co-chair of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester, a voluntary group set up more than 20 years ago to bring together religious communities through joint social events, says he felt “horror and dismay” when he heard about Wednesday’s attacks in Golders Green,The forum’s work makes a real and tangible difference to community relations, he believes, encouraging tolerance and understanding of others, widening social and cultural horizons and creating empathy,“People get to know each other,We have seen real friendships emerge.
”Amin is looking forward to a forum-arranged trip to a kosher-halal fish and chip restaurant in Leeds, which is staffed by Muslims and Jews.You can’t change the course of international politics, he says, but such events, in their small way, help change the atmosphere and defuse tension.Amin, a businessman and former Conservative party member who is now a Liberal Democrat, says addressing the problems of cultural cohesion cannot simply be the job of charities, but requires political leadership and a change in political culture.“Some politicians in our society trade on sowing division and resentment,” he says.He singles out the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s comments in the wake of the Southport riots in 2024 as an example.
“If politicians are going to pour petrol in the flames do not be surprised by the outcome,” says Amin.Marks says that while community safety is crucial, the government must also invest in interfaith and cohesion work, a relatively unloved part of the civil society economy: “At the core of what we do is mixing people, bringing people together.This is social cohesion at the coalface.”For Amin, community tensions inevitably ebb and flow depending on the state of conflict in the Middle East.But interfaith work at a local level has a vital role.
“If you increase connectivity, you decrease hostility,” he says.“The key is to recognise we are all ordinary human beings.”
Man charged over bomb hoax after Peter Kay show evacuated
A man has been charged over a bomb hoax after a live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham was stopped when a “potentially suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening.On Saturday, the force said: “A man has been charged in connection with the events which led to the evacuation of the Utilita Arena in Birmingham last night.“Omar Majed, 19, has been charged with false communications relating to a bomb hoax,” a police spokesperson said. “Majed, of Washwood Heath, Birmingham, has been remanded to appear before magistrates in Birmingham on 4 May
Guy Montgomery: ‘One fan took us back to his house and showed us all his guns’
Have you ever won a spelling bee?No! I don’t think I’ve entered any formalised spelling competition. When I was eight or nine, there was a guy who I used to copy during tests. We were doing a spelling test and the word was “vehicle” and he made an absolutely terrible attempt at it. I knew he’d spelled it wrong and was like, wait – have I been copying someone who’s more stupid than me this whole time?Which word do you hate the most?None! That’s crazy! I love all words. They’re just out there, doing their best
‘We have to mock the site’s insanity’: comedian Tim Heidecker on the allure of becoming Infowars’ new boss
If you’ve tuned in to Infowars over the years, you might have heard a very angry man screaming about the 2020 election being stolen for “reanimated corpse” Joe Biden, or chemicals in the water turning frogs gay, or the Sandy Hook school shooting, which killed 20 children and six staff members, being faked. Founded in 1999, Alex Jones’s Infowars has long been a platform for toxic conspiracy theories with real-life consequences, in addition to weird dietary supplements. But if the Onion has its way, the InfoWars of the future will have a very different impact.The satirical newspaper has been working for several years to take over the site, amid legal battles over Jones’s false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. Pending a Texas court’s approval, the platform could soon be in the hands of the Onion and a newly installed creative director, comedian Tim Heidecker, known for his surreal sketches and mockery of the far right
Prince’s death made me upend my life and move to his home town
The star’s potent sexuality made him my ‘secret friend’ but, with my career in the arts stalling, his death led me to the life-changing decision to move to Minneapolis and maintain his legacyI distinctly remember the first time I heard Prince. I was a dreamy, artistic child growing up in 80s rural Australia, feeling completely out of place. One day, I turned towards the cassette radio in my bedroom, hearing something totally different to the rock music I had grown up with – something electric and alive. It was Prince. My body moved
The Devil Wears Prada 2 to Lenny Henry: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Meryl Streep stars in the long-awaited sequel to the fashion-industry hit, and the comic, actor and bona fide national treasure returns to the stageThe Devil Wears Prada 2Out nowSequels, for spring? Groundbreaking. OK, but this just happens to be one of the most anticipated sequels of the last decade, with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt returning to their respective roles of high-fashion supervillain Miranda Priestly, journalist Andy Sachs and type-A nightmare Emily Charlton.HokumOut nowAdam Scott (Severance) stars in this Irish-set haunted-house horror about a man whose journey to spread his parents’ ashes involves some unexpectedly spooky twists and turns. Irish former electrician Damian McCarthy writes and directs his first Hollywood feature after a couple of lower-budget homegrown hits.Wild FoxesOut nowValéry Carnoy directs this French coming-of-age drama which premiered at Cannes last year to prize-winning effect
Peter Kay show stopped and 19-year-old in custody after ‘suspicious bag’ found
A live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham has been stopped after a “potential suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening.The force said: “We are assisting with an evacuation at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham after a potential suspicious bag was found.“A 19-year-old man is in custody and as a precaution the site is currently subject of a search. We will provide further updates when we can
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