January/February 2006
VOL. XXXIII No. 1
ljtoday
Co-operation is key to creating change Into interfaith: Monty Alfred reports on a meeting of the Three Faiths Forum Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all shown moral deficiencies, according to Baroness Rabbi Julia Neuberger. Addressing the Surrey branch of the Three Faiths Forum, which met recently at Kingston Liberal Synagogue, she said there were failings in regard to single faith schools, voluntary euthanasia, mental health and treatment of asylum seekers. She urged that, on some very practical issues, the three faiths should co-operate. These were: treatment of the aged; attitude to prisons and prisoners; the treatment of those with severe mental illness. The three main faiths should collaborate to impress the government with the need to stop valuing the mentally ill as worthless, to insist on open visits to psychiatric hospitals and those patients cared for in the community; to develop
Into interfaith… For this edition, we asked three people involved in dialogue between faiths – a Church of England minister, a Jewish academic and an imam – to look at whether aspects of their particular religion are factors in the approach to dialogue. • Pages 6-7 And we report on some of the many interfaith activities and programmes that take place within Liberal Judaism congregations and the movement as a whole. • Pages 4-5
first-hand awareness of the horrors of our system and press for changes. Similarly for prisoners, a large proportion of whom have, or have had, mental health problems: are they ‘bad or mad’, Rabbi Neuberger asked; ‘or just sad’. She concluded that the last description was probably accurate. The three faiths should jointly press for more openness in prisons, become Prison Visitors, and support each other in achieving adequate entry for all clergy. Muslim clerics, said the imam, were having to fight for the right to visit all the Muslim inmates (11 per cent of the prison population) on a personal and free basis. Currently, they have to be accompanied by a member of the Church of England clergy. In a response, Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid
Patrons to dine at the Commons Sir Michael Grade and Michael Howard MP, both Liberal Jews, will address Liberal Judaism’s Council of Patrons at their second annual dinner, to be held at the House of Commons in February. With many new patrons on board, this prestigious group, chaired by Stanley Fink, chief executive of Man Group, grows in status and stature as it brings in funds to support the expansion of the Liberal Judaism movement.
emphasised that people of different faiths needed to get to know each other; this could be done by working in projects together, leading to friendships. Imam Sajid felt that the reaction to 9/11 and 7/7 had been inadequate, with no effort to understand motives. Muslims were now subject to witch-hunting, and he looked for support from Jews and Christians to minimise this. Equally, Rabbi Neuberger said that anti-semitism among students was a significant problem, and that she hoped that the imam and others of his thinking could help here. Rabbi Neuberger gave, as examples of good interfaith co-operation, the North London Hospice, which was set up 20 years ago, and current efforts to establish multi-faith secondary schools on a national basis.
Burial backing At a meeting of Liberal Judaism’s Council in December, members reported back on consultations that had taken place within many of their communities on the issue of burial of non-Jews in Jewish cemeteries. A significant majority of the membership had expressed complete support for the policy adopted by the Rabbinic Conference. Responding to a question from Council, Nigel Cole, chairman, confirmed that in the case of the London burial schemes based around the Edgwarebury and Cheshunt cemeteries, Liberal Judaism would only act with the explict agreement of the partners with whom it shares the facilities.