Imran Ahmed, CEO and founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate talks to Rabbi Dovid Lewis and Imam Nasser Kurdy about why social media algorithms are helping to drive us further apart by feeding our urge to click and share only the most biased and distressing news.

Imran is the go-to expert for governments and policy makers around the world who want to understand the way social media firms capture our attention by keeping us in a constant state of anxiety and anger, and often spread misinformation and disinformation.

He recently gave expert evidence before a parliamentary inquiry into the social media's role in the 2024 UK summer riots.

He's guested on the BBC and NBC, and is regularly quoted in the New York Times, the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Independent, just to name a few.

Although Imran is currently living in the United States he is a native of Manchester and this podcast draws on his deep connection to the city, with the many personal relationships he developed in his formative years with members of the Jewish and Muslim communities there.

The wide-ranging conversation addresses the complexities of establishing truth during events like the Gaza war, and the challenges Jews and Muslims face when trying to connect in digital spaces. But it's not all doom and gloom as he suggests ways in which the two faiths can still build real understanding across community lines.

This is a Mark Schweiger and Larchmont Productions co-production, supported by the Cardinal Partnership Foundation.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dovid and Nasser discuss the difficulties of showing empathy between Muslims and Jews, especially during times of conflict. They share their own experiences and explain how personal pain can make it hard to recognise the suffering of others. Drawing on lessons from their faiths, they highlight the value of compassion and respect for others, and offer advice on how listeners can develop empathy towards people from different backgrounds.

This is a Mark Schweiger and Larchmont Productions co-production, supported by the Cardinal Partnership Foundation.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zionism is a deeply complex and contested word, which acts as idea, a movement and a label.

For many Jews Zionism represents the fulfilment of a centuries-old longing for self-determination, safety, and a homeland in Israel.

It has served as a unifying force, giving a sense of purpose, identity, and collective belonging. For these people, Zionism is a source of pride and connection—spiritually, culturally, and historically.

At the same time, Zionism is a source of profound division—between Jews and non-Jews, Israelis and Palestinians, and even within Jewish and broader communities.

Its association with nationalism, the founding of the State of Israel, and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes it a flashpoint for political, religious, and ethical debates.

For Palestinians and many others, Zionism is linked to displacement, loss, and ongoing struggle, while for some Jews it has come to mean different things depending on their relationship to Israel and diaspora life.

In this episode The Rabbi and The Imam discuss the origin of the word Zionism, how its meaning has evolved through the centuries - from its ancient religious roots to modern political manifestations - and what it means to both of them today.

On this journey Nasser explains why his upbringing initially made him an anti-Zionist, Dovid tries to distinguish between religious and political zionists, and both discuss how the idea of Zionism has been weaponised by all sides in this conflict.

Links to topics mentioned in the show

Roots

This is a Mark Schweiger and Larchmont Productions co-production, supported by the Cardinal Partnership Foundation.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imam Nasser Kurdy and Rabbi Dovid Lewis explore the roots of their connections to the land at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, questioning whether an attachment to a land is about ownership, heritage or spiritual longing. They discuss what it means to care so deeply about a place neither was born in, and how faith and religion have shaped their perspectives as a pro-Palestine Muslim and a pro-Israel Jew - both living in Manchester. Can a sense of belonging be shared by different peoples with overlapping histories?

This is a Mark Schweiger and Larchmont Productions co-production, supported by the Cardinal Partnership Foundation.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode we get to know Imam Nasser Kurdy and Rabbi Dovid Lewis; how they met, whether Kosher food is also Halal, how Nasser’s stabbing changed their relationship and why October 7th changed everything in their lives.

Background to podcast

In the very best of times, it’s rare for an Orthodox Rabbi and Imam to become such good friends - but how much more so since October 7th?

Since that day, Muslims and Jews the world over have stopped talking to each other, and in some cases turned on each other - leaving communities worldwide heartbroken. 

Yet Nasser and Dovid, religious neighbours in south Manchester, England, not only choose to keep their friendship alive but are trying to use it as a force for good.

This is how our podcast came about.

This bi-weekly series (every two weeks) will explore how a 'pro-Palestine' Muslim and a 'pro-Israel' Jew, have maintained a friendship through open and honest dialogue, even as war rages thousands of miles away and is affecting relationships within their local communities.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the podcast please email [email protected] or [email protected]

This is a Mark Schweiger and Larchmont Productions co-production, supported by the Cardinal Partnership Foundation.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trail for a new podcast series about The Rabbi, The Imam and the Power of Dialogue.

This is a Mark Schweiger and Larchmont Productions co-production, supported by the Cardinal Partnership Foundation.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the podcast please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.