This article focuses on the experiences of a minoritised black Muslim community in London during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020. It shows that many Somali families, living in a high-density area of the East End, experienced acutely high infection and death rates from late March. The reasons for this were found to be late lockdown, a top-down community-insensitive public health approach, and the way that many of the work force were in highly vulnerable occupations. However, high rates were then prolonged due to the legacy of historic poverty, housing density and institutional racism. Culture and locally specific responses were less significant factors but overall had a positive impact in mitigation. However, the situation with regard to mental health remains bleak. This research suggests more trained Somali health experts, community sensitive data, trauma informed care, and use of local networks could help reduce future vulnerabilities and health poverty.

‘Hospitality in times of war’ is stimulated by a single image, which was too quickly swept away by the relentless flux of horrific war imagery. The photograph, taken during the handover of an Israeli hostage to Red Cross representatives, captures 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz—abducted by Hamas on 7 October 2023—turning back to shake hands with her captor. This article examines Lifshitz’s gesture in relation to both official and personal images of the handshake in antiquity, with particular attention to Homeric scenes and modern philosophical reflections on hospitality. Through a close reading of fraught moments in the Iliad, where enemies clasp hands in a fleeting recognition of shared humanity, the article explores the political and ethical resonance of a woman’s handshake, uncovering a lesser-known history of pacifist women’s resistance. This article is published in connection with a conversation between Vered Lev Kenaan and Rachel Bowlby FBA, which reflects on the article’s genesis and broader context within the ongoing realities of conflict and the hope for reconciliation from a woman’s perspective.