Debbie and Ehud had a relatively short trip to the north, from Jerusalem, but Shmuel came all the way from Santiago, Chile.
The meeting was convened through the Neocathechumenal Way, a sub-group within the Catholic Church. There were over 200 rabbis, cardinals, bishops, priests, and other leaders of Jewish and Catholic communities from throughout the world. As an act of love and reconciliation towards the Jewish people for the suffering of the Shoah, the Neocatechumenal Way presented the concert, “The Suffering of the Innocents: a Symphonic Homage and Prayer.” This symphony, composed by Kiko Argüello, the initiator of the Way, was first performed at the Vatican before Pope Benedict XVI, and has subsequently been performed for thousands at ten different venues, including at Auschwitz.
The three-day meeting included prayers, talks and an inter-religious celebration of the Jewish festival of Lag Ba’Omer, complete with a bonfire and dancing.
(from left to right: Rabbi Ehud Bandel, Dr Deborah Weissman, Rabbi Shmuel Szteinhendler)