'Extreme voices should not be the only voices'

Muslim and Jewish women met at St John’s Church in Waterloo to offer friendship and hope

A group of Jewish and Muslim women came together on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the 7 October attacks and to help “stop the hate on [Britain’s] streets”.

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

In what was described as a safe space by organisers, the group shared their feelings of “exhaustion, pain and suffering”.

They were also keen to express their “hope and gratitude” which they felt had come from similar acts of unity.

'The world feels worse'

Organisers Julie Siddiqi, a Muslim, and Laura Marks, who is Jewish, are co-founders of the Nisa-Nashim Jewish and Muslim Women’s Network.

They said the meeting was a symbol of cross-faith unity against hatred and “not being made to feel we have to pick sides”.

Ms Marks said: “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."

Members were asked to share their feelings and thoughts on what is happening in the Middle East, and how the war had affected them and their communities.

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 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.”

The gathering came after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through London on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police said it made at least 17 arrests - on suspicion of a number of offences including supporting a proscribed organisation, public order breaches, and assault.