Fifty Jewish women write to candidates urging action on anti-Muslim hate
Community's leading female voices urge local election hopefuls to take on hate and stand up for constituents of the Islamic faith
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Fifty of the Jewish community’s leading women have written to local election candidates urging them to tackle hate against their Muslim constituents.
A letter signed by the Jewish women has been made public on the eve of this weekend’s upcoming Nisa/Nashim Jewish and Muslim women’s conference, which has the backing of Prime Minister Theresa May.
More needs to be done to protect Muslim women from abuse and attack, the Jewish women say. They reached their conclusion after reading a report from TellMAMA that the greatest impact of anti-Muslim hatred is felt by women who are visibly Muslim – noting that the majority of victims of in-person or street-based incidents were female.
The signatories, who include Gillian Merron, chief executive of the Board of Deputies, Baroness Altmann, Olivia Marks-Woldman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and Nisa/Nashim’s co-founder Laura Marks, say: “Every day, spaces like trains, buses or the streets often feel unsafe for Muslim women, and they are too often worried that they, and their children, will face verbal abuse or even physical violence.
“As Jewish women, standing shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim cousins and as mothers, sisters, and crucially as friends, we call upon every candidate in the local elections in May, to commit to addressing violence against Muslim women, or Gendered Islamophobia.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
