Muslim and Jewish leaders have joined the Archbishop of Canterbury in an unprecedented joint statement marking the first high-level inter-faith solidarity since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. The letter, addressed to The Observer, describes the assaults on Israel on 7 October last year as “brutal Hamas terrorist attacks” and acknowledges the “devastating war in Gaza and beyond” that has caused “horrific” human suffering.
Signatories include Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Imam Qari Muhammad Asim MBE, and Archbishop Justin Welby. They declare: “Our faiths and our humanity teach us that we should mourn for all the innocent people who have lost their lives. Anti-Jewish hate and anti-Muslim hate have no place in the UK today. We must stand together against prejudice and hate in all its forms.”
The intervention comes on the eve of the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage. The subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including at least 16,000 children. Rabbi Charley Baginsky of Progressive Judaism called the letter “a collective recognition of each other’s pain and a steadfast commitment to fight prejudice together.”
Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition, described the statement as “a major intervention” and “the leadership we need” amid rising antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in the UK. A new Ipsos Mori poll of 2,000 Britons shows shifting attitudes: 30% blame Israel for the current conflict, compared to 27% who blame Hamas—a reversal from October 2023, when Hamas was seen as primarily responsible by almost twice as many people.
Only 8% of Britons believe the UK should support Israel, with stark generational divides: among 18-34-year-olds, 5% support Israel and 31% support Palestinians; among over-55s, the figures are 13% and 6% respectively. Over a third (35%) think Prime Minister Keir Starmer has handled the conflict poorly, and six in ten consider Israel’s military actions to have gone too far. Sympathy is higher for Palestinian citizens (83%) than for Israeli citizens (69%).
