Rabbi Julia Neuberger's Speech at the main MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY rally

Friends,

When Nelson Mandela spoke at the great rally in London to launch Make Poverty History, he stressed that 'overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity; it is an act of justice.'

Standing here to day, speaking for the Jewish coalition for Make Poverty History, one tiny cog in this huge coalition, from all of civil society, I want to tell you that Jews do not believe this is about charity either, any more than Muslims do. This is about justice. And our word for social justice means giving charity of a kind- but it's not about generosity of spirit. Instead, it's about a sense of duty, of obligation. We have a duty to give tsedakah, what Muslims call zaka'at, because it means social justice. It evens things up. It is fair. It is just.

And not to do it is unjust. This Make poverty History campaign is about a reaction of outrage at the injustice of our present trade rules, our attitude to debt amongst the poorest countries, the way we give aid and the fact we do not give enough of it. We want our leaders to meet those international aid targets they set themselves. And we are shocked and angry that they have not yet done so.

And world leaders are beginning to listen. Our own leaders are beginning to listen. The Africa Commission said that we should stop forcing African countries to liberalise their economies- we should stop telling them what to do, even though we recognise things may not always be right in their regimes. Africa is on the agenda for the G8 next week. And that has happened because of this campaign and all those people, all over the world, who have joined in. They have a simple message. We have a simple message. The rich countries can and should do more. They should stop patronising, and instead look into the eyes of the farmers who cannot feed their families and the mothers who cannot feed their children, because the prices for what they grow are so low. They should hear the cries of the parents of the 30,000 children who die every day, through extreme poverty.

That is what this campaign is about. One of the greatest Jewish thinkers, Moses Maimonides, wrote about charity and social justice in the twelfth century. He said the highest order of charity was to give to someone in such a way that they never needed to ask for help again, because you gave them the wherewithal to work, to trade, to be a partner with you.

Maimonides was right. Our aid and our debt relief must make it possible for those in extreme poverty to work and live and feed their families. We can do it. Another teaching, from Deuteronomy. 'You cannot hide yourself.' We cannot hide ourselves from our brothers and sisters and ignore what is going on in Africa and in the other poorest countries on earth.

So let the UK meet its target of 0.7% of GDP in aid by 2008 and lift another 1.5 million people out of poverty at the very least. Let the G8 countries give an annual cash injection of $50 billion to meet their poverty targets, without asking for money back, or making trade impossible. And let us keep pressing our leaders here and abroad, nationally and internationally, with our fellow coalition partners around the world. For those leaders are listening. Let's have action from them, not fine words. Let us hear them say that they cannot hide themselves from what is going on, and what we are responsible for, any longer. You cannot hide yourselves, says the Bible. G8 leaders, listen, take note, be strong and of good courage. And take action. For we will hold you to account.

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