Archbishop of Canterbury joins politicians and celebrities at vigil

The Archbishop of Canterbury is among the faith leaders joining politicians and celebrities at a Downing Street vigil for victims of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

People stood in the cold and rain outside Downing Street to hear Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby speak out against antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate.

The vigil, arranged in an effort to help protect community relations in the UK, was spearheaded by Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered British lawmaker Jo Cox.

It was supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury along with a leading British rabbi, imam and peace activists.

Screenwriter Jemima Khan, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, Rob Rinder, and heiress Jemima Goldsmith were among the well-known faces to turn up in support.

The event, called ‘Building Bridges, Together For Humanity’, was billed as a space to mourn the loss of life on all sides of the conflict ‘in the first mass event of its kind’ since Hamas militants entered Israel on October 7.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he was ‘awed and humbled’ after hearing ‘extraordinary and remarkable’ testimony from survivors of the conflict with relatives who were killed, who said they wanted peace and not hatred.

He told the crowd ‘there is no good ever in the death of an innocent Israeli, there is no good ever in the death of an innocent Palestinian’.

Fighting brings ‘agony to the families, fear for the future and it drives peace far away’, he added.

The Archbishop spoke from a stage: ‘As we are here, tomorrow there will be children thinking about going to school in the UK who dread going because they will be spat at, shouted at and hated because they are Muslim or Jewish.

‘They will have to go without their uniforms because they identify them too clearly – and that (is happening) in our streets.’

To applause, he added: ‘We are called to clean up our doorstep in this country, to clean away all antisemitism and all Islamophobia, and to make sure that when we speak of peace we have lit a light of peace here that can give a beacon elsewhere.’

Screenwriter Jemima Khan, who has Muslim and Jewish family members, plus barrister and TV personality Rob Rinder, who is of Jewish descent, were among those who joined the crowds.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who is of Palestinian descent and has a family member who died in Gaza, told the crowd that hope must come out of the bloodshed.

She said: ‘It is wonderful that so many children have been brought here today.

‘We will do everything in our power so that this is the last time.’

Labour MP Stella Creasy said the people of Palestine and Israel are ‘paying the price’ of the failure of politicians to find the words to deal with the conflict.

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood told the crowd they were standing ‘in the shadows of Big Ben and at a time when our politics seems ever tribal’.

He said the unfolding events in the Middle East bring the ‘serious prospect’ of a ‘deepening humanitarian crisis and the unacceptable loss of lives of both sides demands us to rise above the party political’.

He added that this is a time to ‘stand tall with other political voices and leaders from across our national community and to have the courage to speak up’.

The vigil was held as new figures showed 75 per cent of people agreed that bringing people together to mourn all innocent lives lost in Israel and Palestine is important given current levels of tension in the UK.

The poll of 1,538 people, commissioned by Hope Not Hate and Together For Humanity, also found that 50 per cent of people said they felt the conflict has worsened community cohesion in the UK.

A total of 51 per cent of people agreed that the war is increasing anti-Muslim hatred in the UK, 56 per cent agreed the conflict is increasing anti-Jewish hatred. Just 11 per cent and 9 per cent respectively disagreed.

Brendan Cox, whose wife the Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered by a right-wing extremist during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016, was one of the vigil organisers.

After hosting the event, he said: ‘This is about sharing in our collective humanity. It is to leave one message which is that no matter where we disagree there can be no space for hatred, antisemitism or Islamophobia.

‘Extremism prospers when good people go quiet.

‘If we leave the debate to the most extreme voices then what that does is it provides a culture of hate, intolerance and dehumanisation.

‘It is then that we know that violence results. I know that from my own family experience.

‘I also know that when good people step forward and challenge hatred in all of its forms, particularly when it is coming from people whom you might not agree with on other issues, that it makes a huge difference.’

Rob Rinder – criminal barrister and television personality – said: ‘This is called Together For Humanity for a reason.

‘There is so much noise on Twitter and other social media spaces across the board that this is a gift and an opportunity to remind our nation and communities that we are alongside one another, whatever your background and whatever your faith.

‘This is demonstrable physical proof of good, of light in the darkness and we need that now more than ever.’

A minute’s silence was held and lanterns were lit to end the vigil.’

British-Israeli Magen Inon, whose parents were killed in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, was among the speakers.

Others included Palestinian peace activist Hamze Awawde, who lives in Ramallah in the Palestinian Territories and has had relatives injured recently in the conflict.

Together for Humanity has emerged since Israel began bombing Gaza in response to the October 7 attack, which has prompted a spike in anti-Semitism in Britain.

At least 1,747 incidents were recorded between October 7 and November 29 by the Community Security Trust, whose role is to protect the UK’s Jewish community.

Meanwhile, London and other UK cities have seen large-scale protests on recent weekends in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which have polarised public opinion and been blamed for stoking social divisions.

Ahead of the vigil, Cox, a father of two, said the ‘loudest and most extreme voices have drowned out the vast majority of the public’ when it came to the conflict.

His wife was killed by a Nazi sympathiser days before Britain’s contentious 2016 Brexit referendum, and he subsequently co-founded the Together Coalition charity.

It is supporting the vigils initiative, which began last month to honour ‘Palestinians and Israelis, Muslims and Jews, everyone suffering from this war’.

Organisers have said they are intended to be a ‘sombre moment of reflection and togetherness – without flags or placards’.

‘We’re working to turn a moment into a movement – one that holds hope for peace, stands against prejudice, and reminds us all of the importance of placing our common humanity above all else,’ they added.