London Rabbi Joins fast for Ramadan
A London Rabbi is hoping to increase understanding between Jews and Muslims by fasting for Ramadan. Rabbi Natan Levy, an orthodox Jewish rabbi, is taking part in the Islamic month of fasting, hoping to increase understanding between the two faiths.
The Rabbi’s decision to fast has stunned members of the Jewish community. He was motivated to fast after a young Jew panicked on seeing a devout Muslim at the synagogue he attends.
Rabbi Levy said to have been "frustrated" because of the poor engagement present between Jews and Muslims and he hopes to "create a touchstone for conversation". His decision to take part in Ramadan did not aim to encourage other Jews to do the same, but it did spark some heated and challenging conversations.
The rabbi, who is one of the leaders of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, an organisation which connects local communities, said he hoped his efforts would show "that we Jews and Muslims can share, and fast, and feast and talk, and stop hating each other from behind closed doors".
"A Muslim colleague tells me it gets easier after the second week, which feels like a really, really long time away," he said.
"Yet I am doing this out of choice, imagine the nearly one million people in the UK who have nothing to eat except handouts from a soup kitchen or food bank?
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