Leeds North West Labour MP Alex Sobel praised Mitzvah Day for responding to the climate crisis. “Seeing this response across different communities, and within the Jewish community, is so important.”
Tory Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) said: “In a world which can sometimes be divisive, Mitzvah Day really is something that unites people and I’m proud to play a small part in it. I love seeing so many people in my constituency and beyond volunteering. It’s so rewarding for all involved.”
Mike Gapes, the Change UK MP for Ilford South, highlighted the co-operation between faiths and communities and the impact on charities such as The Passage, “which does transformative work with homeless people in Westminster”.
Lord Pickles said the parliamentary project also had a practical benefit: “I have now learnt how to make my present wrapping cheaper.”
Other participants included Tories Rebecca Harris, Sir Peter Bottomley and Paul Masterton, Labour’s Wes Streeting, Ruth Smeeth, Fabian Hamilton, Stephen Timms and Yvonne Fovargue, Liberal Democrat Lord Palmer and Independent Ian Austin.
Organised by the Board of Deputies and the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews, the Westminster event served as a taster for Mitzvah Day, which is on November 17.
