Intimate Catastrophe: Can Muslim-Jewish Women's Friendship in the UK Survive the Israel-Gaza War?

• In Event: Three Jewish Responses to Catastrophe

Abstract

Through the philosophical-theological lens of the works of Jonathan Sacks, this paper will examine the multiple ways in which inter-faith friendships between Jewish and Muslim women in the UK have been held to account through the period of the (current) Israel-Gaza War. Conflict travels, and in this case especially, has been intimately felt by Jewish and Muslim communities globally. Arguably, friendship is ‘a relationship of ethical significance, with public, political, and spiritual dimensions’ (Ellithorpe, A., 2022). The (current) Israel-Gaza war has put profound pressure on Jewish and Muslim communities worldwide, but especially on the intimate friendships between women of faith. Although some interfaith friendships have inevitably fallen apart, others have been strengthened, deepened and have conspicuously intensified and this phenomenon, I argue, demands the urgent attention of anthropological and theological examination. Jonathan Sacks wrote prolifically on interfaith relations, and his philosophical and theological positionings might be framed in four theoretical strands: 1. Biblical Theology; 2. Common Humanity; 3. Radical Listening and Radical Conversations; and 4. Covenantal Hope. Through the mobilisation of these productive lenses of enquiry, scrutiny and interpretation, I will examine the robustness of friendship between women of faith in the UK during this period of ‘intimate catastrophe’. The case studies will include long standing personal friendships, professional friendships and ‘contrived’ friendships generated through local interfaith initiatives. Located within my academic field of research (Women of Faith and Peacebuilding); my local community involvement in interfaith relations (Nisa-Nashim Jewish-Muslim Women’s Network); my trusteeship of an Israeli-Palestinian shared society charity (the Abraham Initiatives UK) and my personal embeddedness within several decades-long friendships – this paper will endeavour to explore and account for the profoundly divergent individual stories and meta-narratives of horror and despair, compassion and hope.
 

Author

• Lindsay Simmonds, London School of Economics and Political Science