Encountering extended family and friends in the London area, Jews and Christians, in August 2025, we heard political cacophony on the size of the local Muslim population. The deepest discussion on the subject was at Friday night dinner hosted by a young Jewish family. With our host commenting on antisemitism and his sense that the Jewish community as such is turning inward, with respect to Muslims, he said, “Some of my best friends are…”.

He wasn’t saying it at us, but it triggered recollections of my mother’s (z”l) aversity to strangers presuming to make her feel comfortable (in Philadelphia) saying “some of my best friends are Jewish.” He elaborated on immigrant assimilation and minority identities within national identities. He described stereotypical practices of Jewish immigrants to the UK and the US, only marginally addressing the character of Muslim immigration. And the stereotype.

Under that influence, two months later, we visited Santa María la Blanca Synagogue in Toledo. Spatial design alluded to traditions in a Jewish place of worship, despite the synagogue’s name. Making generic small talk with a stranger, a young British Jewish tourist seemed safe. Between pillars, under Mudéjar arches, I rhetorically asked about London absorption of its new immigrant Muslim population.

He curtly responded: You can’t complain about Muslim immigrants in countries presumed to reflect liberal, democratic values. I nodded my agreement, conceivably interpreted as no........

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