Golders Green mosque cancels Muslim Shoah heroes exhibit
No reasons given for cancellation as Jewish interfaith activist insists the community will still work on building local relations
A planned exhibition celebrating Muslim Albanians who helped, protected and rescued their Jewish neighbours during the Holocaust has been scrapped.
No reason has been given for the cancellation, but Rabbi Natan Levy, head of operations at Faith Forums for London, and one of the organisers behind the event, said: “We will continue to focus on building local relations even though this event has been cancelled. However, we are confident after reviewing plans there is goodwill to continue working with communities in Barnet.’
The venue was put under pressure by opponents of the exhibit including Roshan Salih, editor of British Muslim news site 5 Pillars, who urged a boycott.
The event was intended to be part of the mosque’s drive to open and maintain dialogue with its neighbours, in the wake of objections made to its opening, as the Centre for Islamic Understanding.
The Yad Vashem event, due to have been held on Sunday, looks at the response of Muslim Albanians who defied Nazi occupiers. Albanians did not just protect their own Jewish citizens but also offered sanctuary to Jews who had arrived in Albania and faced deportation to camps.
Levy called the exhibition “a powerful reminder that during the Jewish community’s darkest hour, the Muslim community in Albania were one of the few who did not stand by when the Nazis attempted to eradicate Jewish neighbours. It’s important to remember we have historically supported each other.”
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.
