Redefining Interfaith Relations and Reimagining Me

Professor Joe Goldblatt

The first President of the United States, George Washington, had an interesting philosophy about public service. He believed that every citizen can and should serve their country and that their elected position should not be permanent. Rather, as citizens, they should do the best they can with the time they have in the office they have earned, and then return to their usual occupation such as in the case of the Founding Father of America, farming.

I have had the privilege and honour of serving as co – chair of the Edinburgh Interfaith Association (EIFA) since 2019 and during this time I have grown as an individual as I have been tested by numerous global, national, and local events. In this, my final message as co – chair, I shall describe what happened ‘behind the scenes’ during some of these world changing events that in scripture might have been described as signs and wonders.

The UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was once asked by the news media, “What is the hardest part of being a statesman?” He replied “Events, dear boy, events!” Here are some of the dramatic life changing events that impacted EIFA as well as changed my life forever.

Shortly after becoming co – chair of EIFA I awoke to the news that Israel had been attacked by the terrorist group Hamas and 1200 Israelis had lost their lives. As a Jewish man I immediately wondered how this would impact my ability to lead EIFA in the days and years to come.

I was immediately urged by my fellow trustees and others to issue a statement by EIFA condemning violence. I decided to pause until more news was forthcoming from the Middle East. The pressure for me to speak out on behalf of EIFA was growing day by day. However, I was soon handed a life preserver by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

The Lord Provost wanted to issue a statement condemning violence and reminding citizens that in the City of Edinburgh our citizens are indeed entitled to live in a safe city. He then asked me to co – sign this official message.

I explained to the Lord Provost that EIFA has a co – chair governance system and my co – chair was a Muslim woman and that I would want to have her consent before I agreed to add my signature to this message. He quickly agreed and I then sent a copy of the message and a request for her support to my Muslim friend.

She wrote back the same day saying she supported the message and that she would be happy for her name to appear along with mine. When I received her consent my heart suddenly began to feel as though a kettle drum was lodged inside my chest. I realised at that moment the significance of this historic moment as a Jew and a Muslim along with the leader of our city, in fact, the first citizen of Edinburgh, had agreed to join hands during this critical time to promote understanding, tolerance, and peace.

Then it also suddenly struck me that my Muslim sister may not have realised the risk of having her name appear in public as part of such a controversial issue. I remembered when as a US elected official and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 when I gave a speech in Sydney, Australia encouraging event planners to incorporate peace and harmony into the planning of their future events the negative reaction I received. Three audience members seated in the front row, rose from their seats, threw their programmes onto the stage and shouted “How dare you call for peace when you come from a country that is promoting war!” I learned that morning that the word ‘peace’ may be a controversial concept depending on who is proposing it and when it is being proposed.

I immediately wrote my Muslim sister and asked to speak with her by telephone so I could further explain the risk that the was facing in terms of her family, her business, and her own personal safety, by adding her name to this official message. To my surprise she drew a deep breath and then said in a grave and firm voice, “We must sign this now.” She was right and I learned from that moment and that series of events that there are times in our lives when we must act with conviction along with others to remind our fellow citizens that the values that EIFA has subscribed to for 35 years remain ironclad even during the most turbulent of times.

A few days later, BBC Radio Scotland asked me to participate in a discussion about the growing conflict between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. When I arrived at the studio I learned that I would appear with a Muslim imam who I greatly respected. Whilst we waited to be called to the microphones I asked him if we might end our discussion by reciting together the world prayer for peace. He quickly glanced at the text and agreed it would be a powerful way to conclude the programme. Here is the prayer we recited individually, line by line, and together we spoke the words in the final line.

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace,
Let peace fill our beings, our world and our universe.

Peace. Peace. Peace. Amen.

First Recited at the World Council of Churches Assembly, 1983, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

In that small studio, a Jew and a Muslim united our voices to pray for peace. Then we rose from our seats and embraced one another.

During that same time period I attended my annual political party conference. I was concerned about how as a Jewish man I might be received at this conference where many of our members have strong pro – Palestinian views. At the end of the conference, as is traditional, the party leader who for the first time was a Muslim and whose family members were being held hostage by Israel, descended the stage and walked toward my seat where we embraced and whispered that we loved one another and were praying for each others families. It was at that moment I realised that brothers and sisters must then, now, and always, work together for universal peace.

In November of 2023 EIFA decided that we must host a Peace Service at one of our largest places of worship to bring people together in this time of uncertainty and turmoil. Within only a few weeks time, the EIFA staff brought Bahai’s, Buddhists, Christians, Heathens, Hindus, Humanists, Muslims, Pagans, Unitarians, and other faiths and no faith at all together in prayer, meditation, song, dance, and silence to unite our city through peace. At the end of the service, with permission of the organisers, I led the 500 citizens in attendance in reciting the African American spiritual We Shall Overcome,

We Shall Overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We are not afraid, we are not afraid,
We are not afraid today.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We are not alone, we are not alone
We are not alone today
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We are not alone today.
The truth will make us free, the truth will make us free,
The truth will make us free someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We shall all be free, we shall all be free,
We shall all be free someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
“We Shall Overcome”[lyrics of a traditional song]. In Manning Marable and Leith Mullings, eds.

Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices of Resistance, Reform and Renewal (Oxford: Rowan & Littlefield, 1999).

The traumatic events in the Middle East have continued to serve as a loud and troubling distraction to the work we attempt to do through the interfaith community. However, I am more convinced than ever before that our work through local primary schools to nursing homes is more important than ever before because we have continually shown courage, fortitude, and an unwavering belief in the values of respect for one another that over time may lead to greater understanding and even love.

From working with the Consul Generals of Germany and France to host Edinburgh’s first ever interfaith Passover Seder dinner to welcoming all creatures great and small to Greyfriar’s Kirk to bless animals ranging from guinea pigs to Clydesdale horse, I shall never forget the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, the anthropologist Dr Margaret Mead concluded that “It is the only thing that ever has.”

The Autumn season is the time when the Jewish people ask the Almighty to forgive us for our sins in the past year. Therefore, as a member of the Jewish people I ask for your forgiveness for hesitating to act when I should have spoken out more quickly to oppose hatred. I ask for your forgiveness for moving too quickly when I should have insured that others were first content with supporting my decisions.

And now, as I return to my own farm as EIFA’s new lifetime Ambassador of Interfaith, I shall, with all my heart, be grateful all the remaining days of my life, for the honour and privilege of working with those of faith and also those of no faith to gently move our hearts closer together in peace. And I believe we have done this not only for ourselves but also for all those who shall follow us into what I pray will be an even better future because of the signs and wonders we have witnessed together.

Professor Emeritus Joe Goldblatt served as co – chair of the Edinburgh Interfaith Association and will in October 2025 become Ambassador for Interfaith.