‘A celebration of our friendship’: British Jewish and Indian communities break bread together

More than 50 professionals and community leaders gathered for the British Indian Jewish Association winter reception in Covent Garden on Monday 18 November.

Guest speakers at the Punjab restaurant included barrister and shadow attorney General Lord David Wolfson and Rajesh Agrawal, the entrepreneur and former deputy mayor for Business for London.

BIJA co-chairs Zaki Cooper and Dr Peter Chadha said:“Tonight is a celebration of the friendship between the Indian and Jewish communities. We are such natural friends and have so much in common: faith, education, family, community, aspiration, citizenship, respect for the elderly and lots more. We are proud of our identity and combine that with a pride in our Britishness.”

Zaki Cooper added: “Whilst we celebrate our friendship, we must also face reality that times are tough. The Jewish community has been in anguish since the attacks of October 7th last year, and has faced a massive increase in antisemitic incidents. But it is comforting that we are not alone, and we have received support from Indian friends as well as people from other communities. A friendship is really tested when times are tough, and we have so appreciated the ongoing friendship of the Indian community.”

Owner of the Punjab restaurant and BIJA committee member Amrit S Maan said: “We were delighted to host this event, and the atmosphere of friendship and warmth in the room was palpable. We will continue to build the bonds of understanding and goodwill between our two communities.”

Recent activities for the group have included a special reception event with guest speakers Josh Glancy and Manveen Rana, and community awards for CB Patel and Justin Cohen, as well as a roundtable meeting with the High Commissioner of India.