Out of persecution can emerge mutual understanding, as the blossoming relationship between New Mexico's Navajo and Jewish communities is demonstrating.

This month, representatives from the two groups met in Albuquerque to compare histories and learn from each other's struggles.

According to Gordon Bronitsky, one of the organisers of the meeting, Native Americans and the Jewish diaspora have much in common, from their efforts to preserve their languages and religious practices to their battle to secure a land for their people.

Mr Bronitsky said: "In the same way that the land of Israel is a key component of Judaism, many tribes have lands that have considerable sacred importance."

The Navajo Nation, the largest Indian tribe in the US, believe that they were given their land by a group of supernatural beings called "Holy People", and that these areas are the location of sacred events.

Mr Bronitsky also said that both communities face the challenge of maintaining their identities.

He said: "I often share with American Indians that I'm not the kind of Jew my grandfather was and I'm probably not the kind of Jew my grandchildren will be - but I want us all to be Jews."

Mr Bronitsky lamented the fact that both communities' mother tongues are being spoken in ever-fewer numbers. He added that the Indians' language has been central to who they are as individuals and as a people. The only remaining fluent speakers of the Navajo language are in their 60s or above.

Mr Bronitsky said: "I've shared with them (Jewish actress) Mayim Bialik's remarks that reading Hebrew in translation is like kissing your mother through a veil - a sentiment that Indians definitely agree with."

The dialogues with the Navajo began in spring of 2013. The first was titled, "Living in Two Worlds: How Do We Keep Our Balance?"