ONE of the country’s most senior Rabbis has urged Bradfordians to get out of their comfort zones and discuss the “difficult” subjects that people sometimes avoid.

Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, senior Rabbi to the Movement for Reform Judaism, was in Bradford today to meet the Bishop of Bradford, Toby Howarth, and grassroots members of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities.

During the visit - planned before Bradford West Labour MP Naz Shah was embroiled in an anti-Semitism controversy, Rabbi Janner-Klausner said she wanted to understand what it was like to live in Bradford’s “diverse spaces and enclaves”.

She told the Telegraph & Argus that it was important for people to debate difficult subjects in “safe spaces” where they felt able to be open and honest.

She praised Ms Shah’s apology following a social media post which suggested Israeli Jews should be “relocated” to the United States.

“I think the comments should be condemned but also the pattern that Naz has set, for saying ‘I was wrong’ and saying why it was wrong, was a wonderful example of change.”

She said the conversations ranged from cooking to the Israel-Palestine issue, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

The Rabbi, who is based in London, said she hoped to return to Bradford very soon.

Alex Fenton, Rabbi Janner-Klausner’s public affairs adviser, said that chats over “tea and samosas” between people of different faiths were not enough if the “real issues” were avoided.

“It’s not that people are being dishonest, just that they are not talking about the right things.”

Bishop Howarth backed the Rabbi’s call for “robust conversations”.

“What is powerful for me is that there are safe spaces in Bradford where people have a relationship that is strong enough to have these conversations that we need to have.”

Bishop Howarth said the visit had given him fresh hope for the city’s future.

“A day like this gives me so much hope for this city. It was a day of sunshine which was full of hope and joy.”

Bishop Howarth said the Rabbi had visited several places, meeting grassroots members of various communities including Jani Rashid, the first Muslim member of the Bradford Synagogue Council.

Venues included Waterstones cafe, St Paul’s Church in Manningham and the Sweet Centre on Lumb Lane.