Hundreds gathered along with civic and faith leaders at a candlelit vigil in Oxford calling for peace in the Middle East on Sunday evening.
The moving tribute was "an act of solidarity with those who suffer on all sides" of the conflict in Gaza and Israel.
Speakers representing Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities, the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, Imam Monawar Hussain, founder of the Oxford Foundation, and Louise Gordon, vice president of the Oxford Jewish Congregation, reflected on the grief and suffering being endured by people on all sides of the war.
Sarah, a woman who attended Sunday’s vigil who did not reveal her surname, said she came because TV coverage had left her in tears.
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“We need an end to this war, to all the wars going on, and to recognize our shared humanity," she said.
Bishop Steven welcomed around 300 attendees, saying: “It is vital in this moment of crisis for communities to come together across Oxfordshire in solidarity with those who are suffering and to reach out to one another.
"We must not let conflict in distant lands, however heartbreaking, divide us here.”
And he insisted this was not an event for “disharmony and division” and requested that there be no waving of flags, chanting, or heckling.
Imam Monawar Hussain said the latest hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel “perpetuate the vicious cycle of violence, killing and revenge” and the solution is to follow a “path of peace, reconciliation and healing”.
Leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, said: “By working together, we ensure that hate and prejudice have no place in our city of Oxford."
Her words were greeted by applause from the crowd.
Both Oxford MPs Anneliese Dodds and Layla Moran attended the vigil as well as council leaders from Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of the White Horse and West Oxfordshire districts.
Ms Moran, whose mother comes from Jerusalem and who has family in Gaza, said she was “distraught” at the "abhorrent atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7" and felt "deep grief" also "for those innocent Palestinians as the bombs started to fall on Gaza".
She said although her grief was deepening as the conflict continues "we are here to lean on one another and to find hope".
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"My hope is that by being here we are showing Oxfordshire and the country that you don't have to pick just one side. You can choose instead to stick to the side of humanity," she said.
Representatives of the Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist communities shared prayers for peace and understanding and the crowd joined together in a one-minute Buddhist chant.
Between speakers Revd Esther Lay led attendees in singing Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind.
Candles were lit before a moment of silence and Bishop Steven closed the event praying for “peace in our nations, peace in our world”.
One of those attending, Tracey Jones, said: "I was there. It was beautiful."
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