BRITISH CHURCH LEADERS JOIN MULTIFAITH ALLIANCE TO CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS

Church leaders in Britain have signed a powerful multifaith letter of solidarity with the Jewish community following a series of brutal antisemitic attacks, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green and a synagogue assault in Manchester. The letter, organized by the Together Coalition and co-signed by bishops from the Church of England alongside Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh leaders, declared that antisemitism is “a problem for us all to fix.” Describing the recent violence as “a nightmare from another time,” the coalition issued an unequivocal message to British Jews: “This country belongs to you as much as any of us. You are as British as all of us who call this country home. And we will do everything we can to protect you and your community from the extremists who threaten you.” Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called the statement a “powerful riposte” to hatred and urged other sectors of society—workplaces, boardrooms, classrooms, and social media—to follow suit.

The intervention follows a separate statement weeks earlier from the Bishops of Southwark, Chelmsford, Gloucester and Norwich, who condemned rising antisemitism and drew a sharp theological line. “Whatever our views about specific policies of the current government of Israel, we are called as a Church to witness to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who is the light of the world,” the bishops wrote. “There can be no overlap between the truth of this witness and the darkness of antisemitism that continues to blight our communities.” The coordinated religious response signals a growing urgency among faith leaders to confront hate crimes head-on, with the Church of England positioning itself not as a bystander but as an active protector of Jewish life in Britain.