The Rabbi, The Imam and The Power of Dialogue

A Green Party motion describing Zionism as racism prompts Rabbi Dovid Lewis and Imam Nasser Kurdy to ask what such language does to Jewish/Muslim relations in Britain.

They discuss why Zionism means different things to different people, why criticism of Israel must remain possible, and why denying either Israelis or Palestinians a future deepens the conflict rather than resolving it.

The conversation also turns personal, Nasser reflects on being stereotyped as a Muslim and a terrorist, while Dovid describes the exhaustion of repeatedly defending Israel’s existence.

Together, they argue for a harder but more constructive question: not whether one people belongs, but how Israelis and Palestinians can live with safety, dignity and political rights.

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This is a Mark Schweiger production.

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Andy Burnham is now the latest Prime Minister of the UK, but just before he was anointed first he apologised in a TikTok video about Labour's stance on Gaza and then in an interview with Gary Lineker.

And the message landed very differently in Britain's Jewish and Muslim communities.

So in this episode of The Rabbi, The Imam and the Power of Dialogue, Dr. Nasser Kurdy, and Rabbi Dovid Lewis, examine what this reveals about identity politics, community safety, and the power of political language in modern Britain.

⏱️ 0:00 — Andy Burnham's TikTok video on Gaza: performative virtue signalling or principled conviction?
⏱️ 5:30 — The Gary Lineker interview: why "genocide in Gaza" went unchallenged and what that silence signalled
⏱️ 10:15 — Wes Streeting's first remarks as Defence Secretary: "Israel's actions have not lived up to British standards"
⏱️ 17:40 — The "Israel" vs. "Netanyahu's government" distinction: why language shapes whether communities feel attacked or heard
⏱️ 22:00 — Identity politics and accountability: should politicians speak to communities as voters or as religious blocs?
⏱️ 31:00 — A personal reflection from the Imam: how feeling safe as a Muslim shifted after hearing the Rabbi's perspective
⏱️ 38:00 — The Talmudic chimney-sweep parable: why engaging with this conflict means politicians get "dirty" — and why dialogue matters more than clean hands

You can also watch this episode along with previous ones on our Youtube channel

This is a Mark Schweiger production.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: mark@schweigers.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special live recording from JW3 in London, Rabbi Dovid Lewis and Imam Nasser Kurdy sit down for a raw, honest, and deeply moving conversation about what it actually takes to build a bridge across a historical divide, with Q&A session with the audience at the end.

The event took place 26 April 2026, just three days before the knife attacks a couple of miles away in Golders Green, which have shaken so many who live or have friends there, and the much wider community.

Listening back now, there is something very moving about hearing a rabbi and an imam on stage together, in a room full of people, choosing to sit with difference rather than walk away from it.

You can also watch this conversation on our YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/KKaunN7a47M

This is a Mark Schweiger production.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: mark@schweigers.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last episode Imam Nasser Kurdy and Rabbi Dovid Lewis discussed a specific ‘Hadith,’ a narration cited by extremists that suggests Muslims and Jews are destined to be enemies.

The response from listeners raised more questions than it answered.

So in this episode, they go deeper and examine what mainstream Islam actually teaches about how Muslims should relate to non-Muslims - particularly Jews - in times of both peace and conflict, and the answers may surprise you.
This is a Mark Schweiger production.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: mark@schweigers.uk
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When a newspaper article about the Rabbi and the Imam's interfaith work and friendship went public, most of the response was positive.

But buried in the Facebook comments was something darker: a stranger claiming that the Imam could not wait to take the Rabbi somewhere to be butchered, with the remark followed by a smiley face.​

Rabbi Dovid shared the comment with his wife. She stopped what she was doing, looked up at him, and said:​

"So you're now going to go and sit in a studio with this guy? With a man whose faith, honestly and theologically, believes you have a responsibility to kill him?"​

That question sits at the heart of this episode.​

Does one religion really mandate the death of the other?

If so, what does it mean for their friendship?

Rather than brushing the comment aside, the Rabbi and the Imam use it as a chance to examine one of the most misunderstood and weaponised narrations.​

What We Get Into:

The Comment Itself

The exact words, the immediate emotional reaction, and why Dovid says: "It only takes one. And the person is still dead. It does not matter whether or not he was misrepresenting his faith."​

The Hadith That Extremists Love to Quote

Nasser traces the origin of the quote, its context as an end‑of‑times prophecy, and delivers a direct verdict on its relevance today.

Al‑Wala Wal‑Bara, Allegiance & Disassociation

Nasser clarifies the distinction between friendship and total allegiance, and why the two are not the same thing.

Judaism's Red Lines

Dovid explains which theological positions would constitute a genuine barrier in Jewish law.

Politics Poisoning Religion

They examine how the conflict in the Middle East does not just colour geopolitics; it colours how people read their own scripture, and how dangerous that is.​

This podcast was filmed in a studio in south Manchester and is now available to watch here on our new Youtube channel

This is a Mark Schweiger production.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: mark@schweigers.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.