Address by Union of Italian Jewish Communities President Noemi Di Segni to the WJC Executive Committee, Rome 2022

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis Tuesday welcomed the World Jewish Congress’ launch of an historic initiative known as “Kishreinu” (Hebrew for “Our Bond”), intended to strengthen Jewish-Catholic ties around the globe, explaining that “in light of the religious heritage that we share, let us regard the present as a challenge that unites us, as an incentive to act together.”

“Our two communities of faith are entrusted with the task of working to make the world more fraternal, combating forms of inequality and promoting greater justice, so that peace will not remain an otherworldly promise, but become a present reality in our world,” he added.  

The Jewish communal leaders from more than 50 countries, who were received by the pontiff on Tuesday in Apostolic Palace, were gathered for a World Jewish Congress Executive Committee meeting – the first ever formal event held by a Jewish organization at the Vatican since the founding of the Catholic Church. Kosher food was served.

The Kishreinu initiative, when finalized, will serve as the Jewish community’s response to the Nostra Aetate Declaration of the Second Vatican Council, which in 1965 modernized the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish people.

Noemi di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities and member of the WJC Executive Committee, said in her remarks to the Executive Committee: “For our 2,000-year history – in Rome and in every other locality of Italian Jewish community – the majestic walls of this Vatican City have always had a meaning of insurmountable limit.”

“We are here to affirm that the bond is a bond of life, of living communities with thousands of years to be used as experience for our young generations,” she added.