The International Council of Christians and Jews expresses its dismay at a series of events that have occurred recently in Europe. The most frightening of these was the fatal shooting of four people at the Brussels Jewish Museum. These terrible events are a source of anxiety for Jewish communities, with whom we express our solidarity.

For a second time Jews and Christians, among them our President Dr Deborah Weissman, the ICCJ General Secretary Anette Adelmann, and her predecessor Revd Dick Pruiksma, met in Jerusalem for a workshop organized by the German "Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland" (EKiR) and the "Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land" (ELCJHL).

Together with our Patron, Sir Sigmund Sternberg, the ICCJ mourns the passing of his beloved wife, Lady Hazel Sternberg.

As our Berlin Document: A Time for Re-commitment states, “Spurred by the Seelisberg initiative, we have worked to overcome the legacy of prejudice, hatred and mutual distrust.” The ICCJ has been at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism in many parts of the world and we will contiunue to do so. In recent years we have added to our agenda the struggle against Islamophobia.

In the wake of Pope Francis’s canonization yesterday of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, the International Council of Christians and Jews welcomes this historic moment in the life of the Catholic community, and recalls the significant contributions made by both of these pontiffs to the deepening of the Jewish-Christian relationship.

As I take this opportunity to wish our members and friends a healthy and happy festival season — this year, Pesach (Passover) and both Eastern and Western Easter coincide — I realize that it is my last such message as President of the ICCJ.