Mosque apologises after rabbi standing for parliament is verbally abused

Jul 2, 2024 by Jill

from Religion Media Centre:

Jewish News reports that a rabbi, who is also a Conservative parliamentary candidate, was targeted with abuse “redolent of the blood libel” and called a “snake” during a visit to a mosque in Greater Manchester, where he had been invited to speak.

Rabbi Arnold Saunders, the Conservative hopeful for the heavily Jewish seat of Bury South, was visiting the Bilal Mosque in Prestwich on 21 June when a worshipper started screaming at him. Footage posted online shows the man shouting: “Don’t come to the house of Allah and try to engage with us when we know that when you’re in your own places you’re saying it is good that they kill the children.”

The paper reports that the Muslim man urged the rabbi, who is also a local councillor, to “condemn the IDF” and “the killing of women and children”, a reference to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said there was no excuse “for the sort of abuse that was directed at Rabbi Saunders, which included accusations redolent of classic antisemitic tropes like the blood libel… These scenes should serve as wake-up call to politicians and civil society as to just how sectarian our politics are becoming”.

Mosque leaders have issued a statement saying the rabbi was treated inappropriately and disrespectfully, they regret what happened and have apologised to him for how he was treated and to others who saw the abuse. They said: “This incident is not reflective of the congregation of the mosque or the Muslim community in Bury”.

Watch: distressing scene of abuse hurled at Rabbi Saunders.