British Jewish and Indian professionals unite at City enterprise event
Jewish peer Lord Stuart Polak and Hindu peer Lord Krish Raval honoured at BIJA event
Leading figures from the Jewish and Indian communities attended a special British Indian Jewish Association (BIJA) enterprise and community event last week, hosted at City law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
Addressing guests were speakers Keith Black, chief executive of Regatta and chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, and Lord Jitesh Gadhia, financier and chair of the British Asian Trust.
Following the keynote session, peers Lord Stuart Polak and Lord Krish Raval were each presented with BIJA community awards.
Praising the event, Keith Black said: “We are both minority communities with similar values: commitment to family, hard work, entrepreneurship, and much more. As a Jewish community, we can sometimes feel a little isolated, so having friends in other communities is really important. I wish BIJA continued success in its work.”
Lord Jitesh Gadhia responded: “The Indian community has received help, support and guidance from the Jewish community in combating prejudice and safeguarding our religious buildings, and the British Indian community will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Jewish friends.”
He affirmed his “strong belief that identity is destiny. As communities in Britain, we have refused to let prejudice define us and have demonstrated that there is no conflict between our British identity and our faith.”
Accepting his award, Lord Krish Raval said: “I am fortunate to count many people in the Jewish community among my friends. Both of our communities have a remarkable ability to bring people together — and I love the fact that we can disagree without falling out.”
Zaki Cooper, BIJA co-chair, said: “In these difficult times — with geopolitical conflict raging around the world and many of us in this room concerned for family and friends in Israel and elsewhere — we need more interfaith engagement, not less. That is precisely why tonight’s event, showcasing the friendship between the Indian and Jewish communities, is so important. BIJA exists as the organisational home for the relationship between our two communities.
“Our communities may differ in size — around 1.5 million British Indians and 300,000 British Jews — but we share so much in common: family, community, education, aspiration. The list goes on.”
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