Chief Rabbi shares interfaith iftar with Sadiq Khan at St Paul’s Cathedral

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis joined London Mayor Sadiq Khan and religious leaders at St Paul’s Cathedral to break fast for the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

A host of young people from different faiths were hosted at the cathedral by Bishop of London Rt Rev Sarah Mullally and Khan to share an interfaith Iftar.

Attending were the Trevor Pears Foundation and Hannah Kaufman, one of the young interfaith heroes honoured at Lambeth Palace by Jewish News this month.

The London mayor posted a video of the Iftar to Facebook on Thursday, noting: “Real honour to join the Bishop of London and Chief Rabbi and break my fast with Londoners of all faiths and backgrounds.

“Together we sent the message loud and clear: London’s diversity is our biggest strength.” 

In his address, the Chief Rabbi encouraged guests to continue to uphold traditions while maintaining respect for other faiths.

“We share traditions that feel as if they were created today, they feel fresh, they are ever relevant and they provide meaning and inspiration for us the 21st century as they have for all the centuries before,” Mirvis said.

“It is so wonderful for all of us to come together to celebrate our ancient past within the setting of an exciting and wonderful present, looking forward to a great future.”

“We are gathering for our dinner here together, at a time when there has been so much unnecessary conflict in the world, blood has been spilled – some in the name of religion and some as an attack on religion – but certainly we lament that reality of our world today”.

“This event tonight sends out a wonderful message to all of our society: this is the way forward, let us be proud of our own traditions and respect others for theirs and live together within society within a state of mutual respect and harmony”.