TO: Friends (and friends of friends) of Bridges for Peace
Weekly News Update and Prayer Focus from Israel
Week Ending: September 15, 2000

US RABBIS ISSUE TREATISE STRESSING TIES WITH CHRISTIANITY

Dozens of rabbis and Jewish scholars, saying that "Christianity has changed dramatically," have issued a broad treatise on Christianity and interfaith relations, stressing that Jews and Christians worship the same God and that Nazism was not a "Christian phenomenon."

The statement, called "Dabru Emet" ("Speak Truth"), was signed by more than 160 Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis, and was published in an ad in The New York Times.

Since the Holocaust, the treatise said, Christianity has changed dramatically. An increasing number of official Church bodies, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, have made public statements of their remorse about Christian mistreatment of Jews and Judaism."

"We believe these changes merit a thoughtful Jewish response. Speaking only for ourselves - an interdenominational group of Jewish scholars - we believe it is time for Jews to learn about the efforts of Christians to honor Judaism. We believe it is time for Jews to reflect on what Judaism may now say about Christianity," said the statement, which was written by four Jewish theologians and released by the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore.

"It is historic," said Eugene Fisher, director of ecumenical and interreligious affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The mainstream churches, he told The Jerusalem Post on September 8, are "changing their attitudes, doctrine, theology toward Jews and Judaism. This is a document that takes that into account."

"Jews need to learn what forms of Christianity are friendly and merit support, and to acknowledge that there are those in the Christian world who have devoted themselves to interfaith issues and taken risks to combat Christian antisemitism," said Rabbi David Sandmel, of the Baltimore institute, on September 8. In the Jewish world, there is "an ignorance of Christianity, a tendency to view the Christian world as monolithic and a tendency to view all Christians as antisemites and or as Nazis. That is part of the motivation behind this - to encourage Jews to take a deeper look at the Christian world."

The treatise was written by Dr. Michael A. Signer of the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Tikva Fryer-Kensky of the University of Chicago Divinity School, Dr. Peter W. Ochs of the University of Virginia, and Dr. David Novak of the University of Toronto.

The signatories of "Dabru Emet" include Irving Greenberg, an Orthodox rabbi and chairman of the US Holocaust Memorial Council; Neil Gillman, a professor of philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary; and heads of the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements.

The statement covers overlapping layers of theological, historical and political ground. It said that Jews and Christians worship the same God.

"While Christian worship is not a viable religious choice for Jews, as Jewish theologians we rejoice that, through Christianity, hundreds of millions of people have entered into relationship with the God of Israel," the statement said.

Another aspect says that Christians can respect the claim of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

"As members of a biblically-based religion, Christians appreciate that Israel was promised - and given to Jews as the physical center of the covenant between them and God," the statement said. "Many Christians support the State of Israel for reasons far more profound than mere politics. As Jews, we applaud this support. We also recognize that Jewish tradition mandates justice for all non-Jews who reside in a Jewish state."

The statement was welcomed by Michael Marrus, dean of the graduate school at the University of Toronto, Holocaust historian, and a member of the Vatican commission reviewing the archival material on the war-time pontiff Pius XII. He called it "prudently expressed and carefully articulated," adding that "...the important thing is that there is progress. There have been numerous efforts from various Christian denominations to come to terms with the Holocaust. It is important that these efforts be met by thoughtful efforts to understand on the Jewish side as well." (By Marilyn Henry, the Jerusalem Post, September 10, 2000)

PRAYER FOCUS: We thank God for this step toward better relationships between Christians and Jews. We pray that God will continue to work to break down the walls still existing between our peoples which we know grieves the heart of God.

SCRIPTURE: "How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1).