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Targeting a rise in mitzvot as the good deeds go global

September 10, 2015 12:10
Laura Marks

By

Barry Toberman,

Barry Toberman

1 min read

The walls of Mitzvah Day's north London offices are plastered with targets for the continued development of the annual day of good deeds and its associated year-round projects.

Interviewed by the summer beach at the adjacent JW3 community centre, Mitzvah Day founder and chair Laura Marks was loth to reveal the target figures. But as preparations gather pace for the 2015 event in November, she highlighted its role in bridge-building with other faiths, particularly the Muslim community.

"You start something in a mosque and six people take part. The next year it's 20 but 200 more have heard about it. It's playing the long game."

On the global front, Mitzvah Day has received its first international grants towards three European start-ups and expanding Mitzvah Day Active, for unaffiliated young adults seeking some engagement with Judaism, "particularly in countries where it is harder to stand up and be Jewish".