By
James Martin
1 min read
International Development Minister Ivan Lewis has praised Jewish groups for their role in fighting world poverty.
The Bury South MP was at Lambeth Palace on Tuesday for a consultation meeting on eliminating poverty involving his department and faith organisations.
“New Labour has been trying to work against the Thatcherite slogan of ‘There’s no such thing as society,’” he said. “But with the help of faith groups, we can help to disprove this by promoting the need to reach out to others.”
Speaking afterwards, he described the input of Jewish groups as “critical to our coming up with new ways of working that address the development challenges we face in the 21st century”.
Those at the Lambeth Palace gathering included Dan Berelowitz of social action charity Tzedek, which has received government funding towards promoting development projects.
“We were the beneficiaries of a £200,000 grant, which lasts until next March. It has allowed us to visit Jewish schools and movements promoting the Jewish view on the need to reach out to the wider community.”
Also present was Charles Keidan of the Pears Foundation, who said Jewish groups had the influence to be key players in the campaign to eradicate poverty.