Pesach 5772 - Easter 2012
In the last few weeks, much has happened, including the tragic loss of friends and colleagues. Alarming racist incidents have occurred in a number of countries. We all certainly have our work cut out for us. But I am writing at this time to share with you a thought before we go into our busy festival season.
In Memoriam Abdessalam Najjar
Together with our member organization in Israel, the ICCI, the ICCJ mourns the suden and untimely death of Abdessalam Najjar.
Reflections on Circumcision Debate
A few months ago the Swedish Council of Christians and Jews requested the ICCJ to offer some reflections on the debate over circumcision going on in Sweden. On behalf of the ICCJ Executive Board ICCJ President Dr. Deborah Weissman wrote a short statement, published on this website. This statement is part of a more extensive text on the same issue available now on the ICCJ website: “Some Reflections on the Debate over Circumcision”.
Les attentats à Toulouse
Le Conseil International des Chrétiens et des Juifs s’associe à l’indignation de l’Amitié judéo-chrétienne de France et partage sa profonde tristesse.Nous souhaitons avant tout respecter la douleur et le deuil des familles de toutes les victimes à Toulouse et à Montauban.
60th Week of Brotherhood in Germany
On Sunday March 11 the official opening of the German Week of Brotherhood took place in Leipzig. This years’ edition of this nation wide event is the sixtieth in a row. Only a few years after the horror of the Shoah Jews and Christians in Germany came together trying to find ways of co-existence, dialogue and perhaps even friendship. What started on a small scale in 1952, became in sixty years a nation wide event with numerous lectures, exhibitions, concerts etc. all over Germany.
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…..
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