In Jerusalem, the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish Congress held the sixth edition of the annual ‘Night to Honor Our Christian Allies’. Awards were presented to US Bishop Daniel Williams and German Jürgen Bühler. read more »
The Jewish community of Bahrain has hailed recent talks between King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and leading World Jewish Congress Vice President Rabbi Marc Schneier. read more »
Jerzy Kluger, the Polish Jewish boyhood friend of the late Pope John Paul who had a major influence on the pontiff’s revolutionary relations with Jews, has died aged 92. read more »
World Jewish Congress (WJC) Vice President Rabbi Marc Schneier was received by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain for talks. The monarch said his country would host a Muslim-Jewish dialog event in 2012. read more »
As religious leaders, we are committed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with American Muslims - and with any religious community - when their ability to practice their religion or to express themselves publicly without fear of reprisal is compromised. read more »
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger signed a historic declaration on Tuesday in Nicosia, Cyprus, with Archbishop Chrysostomos, primate of the Church of Cyprus, in which the two men promised to deepen relations between the Church and the Jewish people. read more »
Peace negotiations in the Middle East must tackle the issue of the status of the holy sites, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican's Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has said. read more »
his year marks the fourth annual Weekend of Twinning, which began officially last Friday and continues through mid-December. read more »
Leaders of Bishop Richard Williamson's Society of St Pius X have said an offer by the Vatican to bring them back into the fold of the Catholic Church was “completely unacceptable.” read more »
The Pope has joined Jews, Buddhist monks, Islamic scholars and agnostics in making a communal call for peace, insisting that religion must never be used as a pretext for war or terrorism. read more »
A Catholic archbishop in Trinidad and Tobago made anti-Jewish remarks during a sermon. read more »
The World Jewish Congress Institute for Research and Policy has published a new policy study by WJC Middle Eastern Affairs advisor Pinhas Inbari, entitled 'Political Islam and Europe'. read more »
More than 250 politicians, prominent religious leaders and scholars from 41 countries representing the three major religions of the world gathered in Doha to discuss ways to make use of social media to promote inter-religious dialogue and the need for a global code of conduct on the use of social networking sites from a religious perspective. read more »
Ahead of the interfaith meeting later this week in Assisi, Italy – hosted by Pope Benedict XVI and to be attended by 300 religious leaders from around the Globe – the World Jewish Congress has urged the Vatican to forcefully oppose attempts to blame Jews collectively for the death of Jesus. read more »
The American actress Susan Sarandon called Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi during a discussion session at the Hamptons Film Festival over the weekend.
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On October 27, Benedict XVI will lead around 100 representatives and religious leaders to Assisi for an event titled 'Pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace'. Representatives of the World Jewish Congress will also be present. read more »
Concrete projects help overcome differences on Israel. read more »
Dieter Graumann, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, praised Pope Benedict at a meeting in Berlin for stressing the common roots of Christianity and Judaism but warned him of honoring wartime Pope Pius XII. read more »
The vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, Rabbi Marc Schneier, has welcomed an initiative by 15 Islamic leaders in France who on Tuesday met with the father of the abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and called for his release from captivity in Gaza. read more »
Religion was vital for world peace and unity, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a conference organized by the Catholic peace group Sant'Egidio, which was also attended by a representative of the World Jewish Congress. read more »
Last week, Muslim and Jewish soldiers in Israel gathered after a day’s training to eat a communal iftar, the traditional break-the-fast meal eaten after sunset during the month-long observance of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. read more »
A recent Gallup poll has revealed that not only do Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans have similar views regarding how the Palestinian-Israeli conflict might be resolved, but Muslim Americans are significantly more moderate than often believed. read more »
Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders in the Holy Land have joined forces to launch a multi-faith environmental campaign, citing religious injunctions to protect the Earth across their three faiths. read more »
Richard Williamson has begun an appeal against a conviction in a German court of denying the Holocaust, claiming he was tricked into saying the comments by a TV interviewer. read more »
The largest-ever gathering of Muslim and Jewish students and young professionals will kick off in Kiev next week. Seventy young Jewish and Muslim leaders from 25 countries want to demonstrate that a new generation of Muslims and Jews can overcome decades of mutual fear and demonization and build a brighter future for both communities, according to the organizers. read more »
Bosnian Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric and Brussels Chief Rabbi Albert Guigui have presented a joint declaration signed by 33 leaders of Islamic and Jewish communities in Europe to the presidents of the three main EU institutions, Barroso, Buzek and Van Rompuy. The initiative is co-sponsored by the World Jewish Congress. read more »
Eighty Jewish and Muslim leaders from Ukraine and Russia have met in Kiev and pledged to work together to fight a rising cascade of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the two countries. read more »
On Europe Day, Muslims and Jews across Europe have denounced extremist parties and called on mainstream political leaders not to pander to them. The initiative is co-sponsored by the World Jewish Congress and the European Jewish Congress. read more »
The Pope's view marks significant progress, even if some critics make point that it is inappropriate to attribute later Christian ideology to Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries. read more »
Jewish groups have paid tribute to Pope John Paul II following his beatification on Sunday. The Pope, who died in 2005 after 26 years at the Vatican, was celebrated during his lifetime for his efforts to strengthen the links between Jews and Catholics. read more »
Representatives of the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel issued a joint statement Thursday summarizing the contents of the meeting of the Bilateral Commission for Religious Relations with Jews held in Jerusalem March 29 to 31 between the two delegations led by Card. Jorge Mejia and Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen. read more »
The Pope has called the 1944 massacre of 335 Italian Jews and Catholics by Nazi soldiers at the Ardeatine Caves near Rome a "grave offense against God." read more »
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday prayed at the memorial to victims of a 1944 massacre that was one of the worst atrocities by German occupiers in Italy during World War II and denounced what he called the "abominable" legacy of violence unleashed during war. read more »
At a meeting in Paris co-organized by the World Jewish Congress, European Muslim and Jewish leaders have agreed on joint action against extremists and announced plans for a series of public events in European capitals, on Europe Day (9 May). read more »
Senior representatives of Jewish organizations, including the World Jewish Congress, held in Paris with Catholic Church leaders in the framework of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee. They stressed the need to reach out to younger people. read more »
WJC President Ronald S. Lauder has praised Benedict XVI for setting an important marker against anti-Semitism in the Catholic Church. In his new book on the life of Jesus, the Pope explained that references in the Christian New Testament which blame collectively “the Jews” referred to only a few Temple officials at the time. read more »
The historic reconciliation between Jews and Roman Catholics over the past 40 years should be extended to Muslims to deal with the challenges of the 21st century, a senior Jewish official has said. read more »
A large delegation of Muslim leaders, Holocaust survivors and European statesmen has visited Auschwitz to pay tribute to the millions killed in the Holocaust. read more »
The impact of the last few years will leave its mark on Europe’s communal structures in the decades to come, yet few realize the changes that are unfolding each day. read more »
King Abdullah of Jordan has called for more inter-faith dialogue in order to build bridges of tolerance and understanding between different cultures. read more »
World Jewish Congress leaders meet with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican, call on the Catholic Church take a leading role in fighting the delegitimization of Israel. read more »
World Jewish Congress leadership meet with Italian FM, pontiff; Benedict XVI says Church recognizes "historical connection" of Jews to Israel. read more »
World Jewish Congress leaders in an audience at the Vatican urged Pope Benedict XVI to speak out against the delegitimization of Israel. read more »
Une délégation du Congrès Juif Mondial s’est rendue au Vatican vendredi, et a demandé notamment au pape Benoît XVI de « prendre part à la lutte contre la délégitimation d’Israël ». read more »
World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S.Lauder asked Pope Benedict XVI to speak out against the growing delegitimization of Israel, during a private audience at the Vatican on Friday. read more »
Papst Benedikt XVI. hat den Präsidenten des Jüdischen Weltkongresses (WJC), Ronald Lauder, am Freitag zu einer Privataudienz empfangen. read more »
Benedetto XVI ha ricevuto questa mattina il sig. Ronald Lauder, presidente del World Jewish Congress, una delle più importanti organizzazioni ebraiche nel mondo. read more »
Benedicto XVI encontró hoy a Ronald Lauder, Presidente del Congreso Judío Mundial, que estaba acompañado por el Secretario General y el Vice-Secretario General. El Congreso Judío Mundial es una de las organizaciones judías más importantes a nivel mundial. read more »
er World Jewish Congress (WJC), eine der bedeutendsten jüdischen Organisationen in der Welt, wollte öffentlich Papst Benedikt XVI. seinen Dank bekunden für dessen Einsatz für den Dialog mit den Juden. read more »
The leadership of the World Jewish Congress was received by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday and raised concern at the growing political assault on Israel's legitimacy. read more »
Some 50 European Muslim and Jewish faith leaders, who met for the first time Monday in Brussels, urged better protection of religious minorities in Europe and vowed to establish closer ties. read more »
“If Jews are being driven out of parts of Europe once again, this does not bode well for the future of the continent,” EJC head Kantor says. read more »
Over 50 leaders of Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe gather to discuss initiatives on improving relations between the communities. read more »
At a meeting co-hosted by the World Jewish Congress, over 50 representatives of Islamic and Jewish communities from across Europe gathered in Brussels to discuss initiatives for better relations between the two communities. read more »
Over 50 leaders of Muslim and Jewish communities from across Europe are to attend a one-day Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders on Monday. read more »
In two separate attacks in Iran's capital on Monday, a senior Iranian nuclear scientist was killed and another wounded when their cars exploded. read more »
Statement drafted by Sheikh Fawzi al-Zifzaf, chairman of permanent committee for dialogue, read during gathering of senior faith and political leaders at Parliament in London, 'Post' learns. read more »
Rabbi Marc Schneier, vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, has praised leaders of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the oldest center of Islamic scholarship in the world, for opening up inter-faith dialogue to Jews. read more »
A new, 62-foot-tall menorah, possibly the world’s largest, rises from a mountain overlooking this Indonesian city, courtesy of the local government. Flags of Israel can be spotted on motorcycle taxi stands, one near a six-year-old synagogue that has received a face-lift, including a ceiling with a large Star of David, paid for by local officials. read more »
With the support of the World Jewish Congress and the Islamic Society of North America, the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding successfully has held the Weekend of Twinning, involving 200 mosques and synagogues world-wide. read more »
Jewish leaders in Italy have criticized a TV series that portrayed wartime Pope Pius XII as working forcefully to save Jews from the Nazi onslaught as "unacceptable revisionism.” read more »
Jewish high school students from New York and Christian high school students from Berlin, Germany are joining together for the 9th Annual American-Jewish/German Youth Exchange Program in New York this week. read more »
A synod of bishops representing Catholic and other churches in the Middle East has called on the international community to take "the necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different Arab territories" and warned Israel not to use the Bible to justify any "injustices" against the Palestinians. read more »
For the first time ever, Vatican Radio is producing a webpage in Hebrew with up-to-date information about the ongoing Special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. read more »
At the 8th Doha Inter-Faith Conference in Qatar, WJC Vice-President Marc Schneier defended Israel against a diatribe by the Palestinian Muslim cleric Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi, who accused Israel of “illegally occupying” and “Judaizing” Jerusalem. read more »
Young professionals of the three monotheistic religions are gathering this week in Seville, Spain, for an inter-religious dialogue conference. read more »
At a synod of Catholic bishops in Rome, a rabbi from Israel has told Catholic bishops that Israel was not solely responsible and that the attitude of some Catholics violated the church's own teaching about Jews and Judaism. read more »
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel has come out in favor of an inter-faith center near the site of the 9/11 terror attacks in Manhattan, rather than the controversial ‘Ground Zero mosque’. read more »
A group of rabbis from Jewish settlements near the Palestinian town of Beit Fajar has visited the local mosque which had been torched by arsonists. read more »
The Vatican's official newspaper, the ‘Osservatore Romano’, has deplored jokes made by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi about Jews, saying they were "offensive" to Holocaust victims. read more »
Eight Muslim American leaders, who visited the sites of former Nazi concentration camps and met with Holocaust survivors earlier this month, have signed a statement condemning Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. read more »
At an ‘iftar’ dinner at the White House, US President Barack Obama has defended a controversial plan to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero in New York, saying Muslims had a “right to do so.” read more »
The head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has criticized the National Council of Churches in Australia over a resolution which asks churches to boycott goods produced by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. read more »
In Brussels, leaders of all major faiths have held their annual meeting with the leaders of the three main EU institutions. read more »
Archbishop Koch Reflects on New Appointment read more »
The outgoing Vatican official in charge of relations with Judaism, Cardinal Walter Kasper, has said a decision on the beatification of war-time Pope Pius XII should wait until all Vatican archives are accessible to experts. Kasper will be replaced by the Swiss Bishop Kurt Koch on Thursday. read more »
Richard Williamson, the bishop of the ultra-conservative Catholic Society of St. Pius X who denied the existence of gas chambers in Nazi death camps in a TV interview, will not be present at his trial in Regensburg, Germany, on Friday. read more »
Giacomo Babini, a retired Catholic bishop in Italy, has reportedly suggested that “Zionists” were behind the current storm of accusations over sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests that has been roiling the Vatican. read more »
Historical documents which up until now had only been available as hard copy in certain libraries have been made available on the Vatican’s website. read more »
Controversial subjects such as the role of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust were at the heart of talks between the International Jewish Committee for Inter-Religious Consultations and Vatican officials in Rome. read more »
A new report by the Presbyterian Church USA, which claims that Israeli occupation is the root of the Middle East conflict and calls on the US government to stop providing aid to Israel in order to halt Jewish settlement expansion, has been strongly criticized by Jewish leaders. read more »
The prefect of the Vatican’s Secret Archives, has said it would likely take five years before the archives on the pontificate of war-time Pope Pius XII are cataloged and opened to historians. read more »
18 Catholic scholars from Australia, Germany and the United States have written to Pope Benedict XVI urging him to delay making the controversial war-time Pope Pius XII a saint, ‘Reuters’ reports. read more »
The Vatican is planning to post selected documents from its World War II archives on the internet, according to the Catholic news agency ‘Zenit’. read more »
The culture of proscription and banning is alien to European culture and alien to preserving identity. It also gives exactly the opposite message that it seeks to convey, argues the chief rabbi of Moscow and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Conference of European Rabbis. read more »
A survey conducted by Pew Research in 25 countries has found that the populations of nearly all Muslim countries hold very negative attitudes toward Jews. read more »
A court in Germany has summoned the Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson to attend a trial in April where he is to face charges of incitement for his belittling of the Holocaust, which is a crime in Germany. read more »
During his highly publicized visit to Rome’s Great Synagogue, Pope Benedict XVI has said the Vatican had “provided assistance” to Jews in a “hidden and discreet way” during the Holocaust, thus indirectly defending his predecessor Pius XII. read more »
WJC President Ronald S. Lauder has called on the Vatican to dispel doubts about role of war-time Pope Pius XII by opening all archives to international researchers. Pope Benedict recalled a visit to Yad Vashem earlier this year. read more »
During a meeting with Vatican Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, in Rome today, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder expressed gratitude for Pope Benedict’s visit to the Holy Land last week. read more »
No rabbis or Jewish leaders are to take part in Monday’s meeting in Brussels of religious leaders, co-hosted by the presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, the Conference of European Rabbis announced today, in a protest against the participation of Islamist organizations and individuals closely linked to the international Muslim Brotherhood. read more »
Ronald S. Lauder: "Continue to work with Vatican to strengthen understanding" read more »