32th Annual Meeting Italian Federazione
Camaldoli is "a privileged and precious place of mutual knowledge and listening, of respect and comparison but mainly a place of Christian-Jewish friendship, open to all mankind" . This is the reason why the Christian-Jewish meeting was awarded the Exodus prize. The theme of the meeting was “Berit, Alliance or Pact between God and Jewish people in the Holy Scriptures”. Through his death and resurrection the Jew Jesus received the gentiles in a pre-existing reality, the Covenant with the Jewish people. This covenant never has been cancelled.
In Memoriam Maja Brand
On Monday March 5 we were shocked to hear the news that Maja Brand, our 2011 Cracow conference coordinator, is one of the victims of the terrible train crash that happened near Cracow, Poland, last Sunday. With her parents, her family and all her friends and teachers at the Cracovian Jagiellonian University we deeply mourn the dead of a young, talented woman, fully dedicated to her social activities in Georgia and to Jewish-Christian dialogue in Poland.
Manchester 2012 Registration Open
The 2012 annual conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) will be held in Manchester, UK, July 1-4. The ICCJ is honoured to co-host the conference with the UK Council of Christians and Jews and its Manchester Branch, in co-operation with the University of Manchester’s Centre for Jewish Studies. The theme chosen for the conference is ‘New Neighbours, New Opportunities: The Challenges of Multiculturalism and Social Responsibility’.
Letter of the President
One of the goals of the ICCJ, as listed in our Mission Statement, is countering “all forms of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination, racism and the misuse of religion for national and political domination…” For many years, this goal was implemented largely in fighting against antisemitism. In fact, the first point of our Berlin Document—“A Time for Re-commitment”—calls upon Christians “to combat religious, racial and all other forms of antisemitism.”
ICCJ Honorary President addresses UN General Assembly
Rabbi David Rosen urged the UN General Assembly today to protect the quest for Arab-Israeli peace from extremists' assaults by giving more power to "religiously responsible voices. If we don't want religion to be 'part of the problem,' the answer cannot be to ignore it, as political leaders seeking a solution to the conflict have often done in the past," said Rosen, AJC's International Director of Interreligious Affairs and Honorary ICCJ President. Rosen was one of the internationally recognized religious leaders addressing World Interfaith Harmony Week at the UN.
Prime Minister Bouffier visits ICCJ
Prime Minister Bouffier’s visit to the Martin Buber House was the culmination of a successful ICCJ Executive Board meeting. The Land of Hesse, one of Germany’s Länder, is an important partner in ICCJ’s activities. Through the International Martin Buber Foundation the Land of Hesse considerably supports the interreligious dialogue work of the ICCJ. To stress the fact that these ties are not merely of a formal nature, the Prime Minster came to Heppenheim to affirm his personal interest in our work.
Letter to Patriarch Theofilos III
During its recent Heppenheim meeting the ICCJ Executive Board was informed about the disgraceful attack on the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. It was decided to send a letter to His Beatitude Theofilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem. Copies of the letter were sent to the Israeli authorities and press agencies. Text of the letter…..
Statement on attempted ban on circumcision
The International Council of Christians and Jews received a request from our member organization in Sweden to help them combat the proposed ban on circumcision. Similar laws have been suggested in other places, as well. We are sending this to you as an initial response. Hopefully, within the next few weeks, we will send out a longer and more detailed booklet, with more resource material.
Holocaust Memorial Day 2012
January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day. Sixty-seven years ago the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau were liberated. All over the world commemorative services and gatherings will be held.
Preview 2012
On the threshold of 2012 we wish all our friends world wide a happy and healthy new year. May the New Year be packed with interfaith activities in all those countries where ICCJ member organizations actively are engaged in interreligious dialogue. The International Council of Christians and Jews certainly will have its share in all this. To get a taste of all what is going to happen, please have a look at a preview of the planned 2012 activities.
ICCJ International Abrahamic Forum
During 11-12 December, the Steering Committee of our Abrahamic Forum held its first meeting at the Martin Buber House in Heppenheim. Three members of the committee - one Muslim, one Christian and one Jew- were asked to prepare 20-minute presentations on why each considers trialogue to be important, before discussion of each paper by the rest of the steering committee.
Merry Christmas - Seasons Greetings
It isn’t so often when Chanukah and Christmas (or, at least, the Western Christmas) come together. Of course, Christmas is a major Christian celebration, while Chanukah, for Jews, is a minor festival. Still, the two share something important in coming, as they do in the Northern hemisphere, around the time of the winter solstice. In both of our traditions, we are celebrating the triumph of light over darkness.
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