Abraham Accords

Lord Bishop of Leicester Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2023 Grand Committee

[The Lord Bishop of Leicester]

My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Polak, for securing this short debate and my admiration and gratitude to all those who have supported and championed the Abraham accords all across the Middle East and beyond. They are truly an historic achievement, and I applaud the courage of all those who seek to bring peace to this long-troubled region. I add my thoughts and indeed prayers for the people of Morocco as well.

Noble Lords have already mentioned a number of reasons for why the accords are so significant for the region as well as for the UK. I wish to add to this debate my observation that, at the same time as supporting peace efforts in the Middle East itself, we must be proactive in addressing the tensions which conflict in the Middle East can cause here in the UK. We saw an example of this during the May 2021 Gaza conflict, when there was a steep increase in hate crimes committed against both Muslims and Jews in this country. We cannot presume, therefore, that peaceful coexistence between Jewish and Muslim communities will come about automatically in the UK simply because we are at a geographical remove from the Middle East. It is by no means impossible, but it does not come of its own accord.

A poll done in 2020 found that 44% of British Muslims believed that British Jews were more loyal to Israel than to the UK, a belief counted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance to be anti-Semitic. That is nearly twice as many as among the general public at large. However, that perception of dual loyalty was significantly less common among those surveyed who had friends who were Jewish. It is true integration, then, and the opportunity to build friendships, that can make living well with difference possible.

I could give many examples from my local context in Leicester that work across different faiths, particularly our St Philip’s Centre. We are doing a lot locally to build these friendships. However, we also need action from the Government. We need a robust long-term strategy for integration for each of the four nations of the UK, with clearly defined responsibilities for local authorities and funding allocated at national, regional and local levels.

I was encouraged recently to hear that, after the Government had decided to revoke the Inter Faith Network’s funding, they agreed to offer it financial support for one further year. But what is the Government’s long-term strategy for supporting interfaith relations in the UK?

The Abraham accords are an important framework that makes relationships across divides possible and fruitful. The UK Government should passionately support them, but we must also ensure that such frameworks undergird and nurture our common life here too.