JDA Noah Katz Launches New Interfaith Fellowship

On 27th & 28th February, JDA Noah Katz hosted the Yad Fellowship Summit – the first event of a Muslim/Jewish interfaith project they have co-founded. The Summit brought together 40 leaders from across the student movement, the HE sector and the interfaith space to Cumberland Lodge, an educational charity based in the heart of the Royal Estate in Windsor and was supported by The Lord (John) Mann, the UK Government's Independent Adivser on Antisemitism and the National Union of Students (NUS Charity). The Yad Fellowship exists to fill the Dialogue Gap that has grown on UK campuses & civil society, to tackle antisemitism & Islamophobia together, and to foster the next generation of leaders in the UK. A panel, chaired by Katz, explored what leaders in the student movement can learn from expert interfaith practitioners: Laura Marks CBE (founder of Mitzvah Day, co-founder of Nisa-Nashim, outgoing chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and former Senior Vice President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews), Dilwar Hussain MBE (founding Chair of New Horizons in British Islam), Dr Lindsay Simmonds (Research Fellow of the London School of Jewish Studies), and Zaynab Albadry (Director of Programmes of Future Leaders UK). Saranya Thambirajah (VP Liberation & Equality, NUS UK) chaired a wide ranging after dinner conversation with Lord Mann, the Rev'd Cannon Professor James Walters (founding Director of the LSE's Faith Centre), Tito Molokwu (LSE Students'​ Union's General Secretary), Professor Adam Habib (Vice Chancellor of SOAS University of London), and Rabbi Charley Baginsky (CEO of Liberal Judaism & Co Lead of Progressive Judaism). The second day was spent focusing on leadership and co-creating the next steps for Yad Fellowship's growth. You can find out more about the Yad Fellowship on Instagram (@YadFellowship_), LinkedIn and Facebook (@Yad Fellowship), and Twitter (@YadFellowship).