As the conflict in Israel–Palestine region has intensified, friendships across religious and cultural lines have felt the shockwaves. In the UK, and all over the world, bonds once nurtured between Jews and Muslims have, in many cases, fractured under the weight of grief, fear, and political polarization. Yet even in this charged landscape some friendships have not only endured but deepened.
What makes these relationships possible? What allows certain connections to hold fast when nearly everything around them pulls apart?
In this program, we’ll look closely at real stories of friendship under pressure, drawing on auto-ethnographic reflections and emerging anthropological research to explore what sustains trust across profound difference. Together, we will probe the delicate intersections of religious commitment, political identity, communal allegiance, and personal courage.
Join us as we uncover how, even in moments of global crisis, friendship can become an act of resilience.
Dr. Lindsay Simmonds is a Research Fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) where she has lectured, written and convened courses for over 20 years, focussing on women in Biblical narrative, the Talmud and Jewish Law. In 2024, she completed a three year project at the Religion and Global Society Unit at the London School of Economics (LSE), UK, where she led research on Women of Faith and Peacebuilding examining the work of Israeli and Palestinian women peacebuilders. In addition to her academic research and lecturing, Lindsay is co-chair of her local Jewish-Muslim Women’s Network Nisa-Nashim, Vice-Chair of trustees for the Abraham Initiatives UK and Jewish Scholar-in-Residence for the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ). Her PhD (Department of Gender, LSE) is entitled, ‘Generating Piety: Agency in the Lives of British Orthodox Jewish Women’, and she is involved in several UK projects promoting orthodox Jewish women’s Torah study, ritual participation and leadership.
Julie Siddiqi MBE is a UK based trainer, consultant and grassroots campaigner who has worked in communities for more than 25 years. As a Muslim, she believes her faith encourages her to be passionate about finding ways to bring people together through social action and she is a regular commentator on TV and radio. Julie is co-founder of Nisa-Nashim, the largest Jewish and Women's Network in Europe and believes that building friendship and trust are key to bringing people from different backgrounds together in a rich and meaningful way.
In 2024, Lindsay and Julie were awarded a joint Honorary Doctorate from Middlesex University in recognition of their “contributions and commitment to promoting interfaith understanding and engagement”.
Rabbi Dina Brawer has curated meaningful and accessible Jewish experiences and built organizations that advance women's leadership. She is the founder of JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance) in the UK and producer of #YourTorah, a Mishnah podcast taught entirely by women, and PrayerFull, guided prayer. Her story is featured in 10 Women, 10 Decades, a short film by Chocolate Films celebrating pioneering women in the UK. More recently, as the Inaugural Executive Director of World Jewish Relief USA, she led efforts to mobilize Jewish communal response to global poverty, climate resilience, and humanitarian crises, translating Jewish values into impactful action on the world stage. Born and raised in Milan, Italy, she holds a BA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University of London, an MA in Education and Psychology, Institute of Education, London, and Semikha from Yeshivat Maharat, New York.