A new exhibition which aims to “take the mystery out of Judaism” has opened up this week in Pendleton.
Pete Simms and the community campaigner Owen Power, both from Salford, have set up the ‘Jewish Living Experience’ at Pendleton Gateway on 1 Broadwalk.
The exhibition is running this week till Friday (August 16) and it aims to “break down barriers” and “encourage interfaith relations”.
Owen said: “It’s to show that the Jewish community is as diverse as any other community, there’s every shape and size and every different interpretation, we’ve got ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, Progressive, you name it they’re all in there.
“I’ve been living in Salford for the last 22, 23 years and if you think about it I’ve got three identities in the sense of I’m deaf, I’m gay and I’m Jewish.
“And if you think about it, all three hands can be very complicated in the sense of either feeling excluded or just not quite fitting in. So I’ve always been pretty passionate about campaigning on diversity and inclusion.”
The Salford MP Rebecca Long Bailey visited the exhibition this week to mark its opening.
Owen added: “One of the things that I really like about Salford is there’s a genuine desire within Salford Council to really promote community cohesion and to support diversity.
“Over the years I’ve campaigned on a number of issues and the councillors have all been really supportive.
“We literally opened the door for five minutes when our MP Rebecca Long Bailey arrived and clearly that sent out a really good message on community cohesion.”
The exhibition includes a range of information about the Jewish living experience. One aspect of Judaism the exhibition explores is the Shabbat.
Owen added: “Shabbat is really very important to Jews. I think everyone observes it in some form or other. So there’s an explanation of Shabbat and all the festivals.”
Reports of anti-Semitic hate incidents in Salford doubled last year according to statistics from the Greater Manchester Police.
In 2022 there were 30 anti-Semitic hate crime incidents recorded in Salford by the police. In 2023 the number of reported incidents jumped to 71. This is a 129 per cent increase.
Owen added: “Obviously Jews live with anti-Semitism sort of lurking in the background. It’s been there for thousands of years but obviously different times had different rates (low/high), so it just goes up and down.
“So basically i think it’s always a good idea to encourage interfaith relations.”
The exhibition is on from August 12-16 from 11.30am-2pm at Pendleton Gateway, 1 Broadwalk M6 5FX.
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