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Faith groups attack usury

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A campaign against excessive interest rates was launched with interfaith backing at Britain’s oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks, in the heart of the City of London on Wednesday.

Christian and Muslim representatives joined Rabbi Natan Asmoucha at the synagogue before setting off for a rally at Spitalfields, organised by the charity London Citizens.

Rabbi Asmoucha explained that the protest was not against lending as such but against “high interest rates which keep people from ever getting out of debt”.

He said: “Our spiritual lives are conducted not just in the church, synagogue or mosque, but in the business world as well. People are suffering. London Citizens want to bring the issue of usury to people’s awareness and start a debate about it. We have to look at ways of empowering, rather than enslaving people.”

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