A muslim in Bristol by Farooq Siddique

On Thursday, at the Watershed, young Muslims and Jews from around Bristol were invited to take part in a debate entitled "Gaza – Your Questions".

The debate was organised by the Bristol City Council and hosted by the Bristol Muslim Cultural Society and Radio Salaam Shalom, which broadcast the debate live. If you missed it, you can hear it on their website.

It was the first time such a debate, specifically aimed at young Muslims and Jews, has ever been held in Bristol. And from the feedback I have received so far, it is bound to be the first of many.

Israel's recent and merciless military onslaught on the caged population of Gaza had a profound impact on the minds of Muslims in the UK. Until now though, there has not been a concerted effort to bring young Muslims together with young Jews in our city. I feel privileged to have been part of the small team of people who put it together.

The aim was simple really. On both sides of the wall of opinion that now divides people in the Israel-Palestine debate, views have become entrenched. Because both sides refuse to engage with the other, it leaves precious little opportunity to have those views challenged. In such a vacuum of facts, rumours and myths abound. Repeatedly talking only to those who share those views only reinforces those myths, and soon those myths become "facts". Whenever those myths are then challenged, the only possible response is an emotional one, one based on misinformation.

The hope in organising "Gaza – Your Questions" was to have an informed discussion. The young audience could question a panel of representative speakers, chaired by Marvin Rees and including three Muslims, three Jews, an Amnesty International representative and local MP Kerry McCarthy.

We certainly were not expecting to solve the problems facing Israel and Palestine, but we were hoping that some of the myths on both sides would be exposed and challenged. And in that, I believe we succeeded.

One thing I was personally hoping for though, was that by the end of the evening, everyone in the room would be crystal clear that the Israel- Palestine issue is a political one, and not an issue of enmity between Muslims and Jews. And in the closing comments, it was heartwarming to hear all three of the Muslim speakers underscore that point.

Another Muslim speaker Imam Ajmal Masroor, ended his talk by referring to Passover. He mentioned an incident 1,400 years ago, when the Prophet Muhammad asked a group of Jews why they were fasting. They told him they were celebrating the day Moses delivered them from the tyranny of Pharaoh. The Prophet Muhammad replied that as of next year, Muslims would fast two days to celebrate the freedom of the Jews from Pharaoh.

Too many Jews simply do not know that Muslims have been fasting on those two days to celebrate their freedom from Pharaoh ever since.

Imagine if one day Jews could celebrate the freedom of the Palestinians. What a wonderful world this would be.