By Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
The founder of the Ostro Fayre Share Foundation says people should “take opportunities to join together and show how we will not let people divide us”.
Maurice Ostro OBE KFO spoke at the Walk Of Unity event on Monday (2nd September 2024), which saw faith leaders, business owners, Mayor of Sefton Cllr June Burns, and members of the public walk together from Southport Mosque on Sussex Road to Southport Synagogue on Arnside Road.
The event took place just over a month after a knife attack at the Hart Space in Southport which saw three young girls killed and several other children and adults injured.
The tragedy was followed the following night by a riot which saw homes, cars, businesses and Southport Mosque damaged, with over 50 police officers hospitalised.
The multi-faith Walk Of Unity on Monday sent out a message that amid tragedy, the community in Southport is committed to creating a lasting legacy of connection across divides.
Among those leading the initiative was Maurice Ostro OBE KFO, a serial entrepreneur who has started, built and sold companies in the airline supply, frozen yoghurt, food production, media distribution and other industries, then dedicated himself to philanthropy
The Ostro Fayre Share Foundation focuses on philanthropy, entrepreneurship and building interfaith connections.
Maurice Ostro OBE KFO said: “It feels like a homecoming for me as my family are from Southport.
“My mother was born here and to come back is very nostalgic.
“But it is sad that the reason I have had to come back here is because Southport has been put on the map, not for the reasons that I remember it; a place where, I was just talking to someone about a stone setting yesterday, for a member of the community whose children would cycle with me around Southport from morning until evening on a Sunday through the town without a care.
Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders, local politicians, community leaders and members of the public today who took part in a Walk Of Unity from Southport Mosque on Sussex Road to Southport Synagogue on Arnside Road. Ibrahim Hussein, Imam of Southport Mosque (left) and Maurice Ostro OBE KFO, founder of the Ostro Fayre Share Foundation. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
“It was a place of safety for young children. In that horrible, tragic event in July we saw that it is not always the safest place. That allowed extremists in the country to use it for their own political purposes as an excuse to bring violence and hatred where I remember warmth and love and community.
“It is not something that I could just sit idly by and do nothing and I am so grateful that when we reached out to the community they immediately said what an opportunity to show how we as faith communities can come together even when it is in moments of sadness and tragedy and to show that we are so much stronger united than divided.
Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders, local politicians, community leaders and members of the public today who took part in a Walk Of Unity from Southport Mosque on Sussex Road to Southport Synagogue on Arnside Road.
Phil Rosenborg President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews (left) with Maurice Ostro OBE KFO, founder of the Ostro Fayre Share Foundation (right) with copies of the book: Philanthropy, Consensus and Broiges: Managing a Jewish Community, A History of the Southport Jewish Community
By John Cowell. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
“There are so many things we were talking about, the Imam and I, just before we came here from the Mosque, about the similarities in our prayer times and so many things in our shared histories that bring so many benefits to this country. Indeed my father was an immigrant and married a local lass from here in Southport and brought beauty, brought so many advantages, built business which contributed to society, there are so many things we can bring, positive things, we have to hold on to those and take the opportunities we are doing right now to join together and show how we will not let people divide us.
“We will use these opportunities to do the opposite, to show that we are united.
“It is a privilege that we can all be together here as communities and break bread in a positive way.”
Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders, local politicians, community leaders and members of the public today who took part in a Walk Of Unity from Southport Mosque on Sussex Road to Southport Synagogue on Arnside Road. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Many faiths promote charitable giving as a key imperative of religious life. The Jewish faith is one example of this, where believers are encouraged to donate 10% of their profits to charitable causes, based on the Biblical principle of tithes.
Maurice Ostro OBE KFO follows this imperative and sets aside 10% of the companies that he has founded for charity both in terms of their shares and their dividends.
Organisers of the Walk Of Unity hope that the gathering inspires communities across the country to come together once again as the country continues to rebuild community connection following the riots.
The event was backed by Strengthening Faith Institutions, Together, The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Faiths Forum for London and the Ostro Fayre Share Foundation.
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