International Council of Christians and Jews
The International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) is an umbrella organization of 38 national groups in 32 countries world-wide engaged in the Christian-Jewish dialogue. [1]
Founded as a reaction to the Holocaust, many groups of theologians, historians and educators dedicated their efforts to seek Christian-Jewish reconciliation.
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[edit] Mission
According to the Mission Statement of the ICCJ[2], the group:
- promotes understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews based on respect for each other's identity and integrity
- addresses issues of human rights and human dignity deeply enshrined in the traditions of Judaism and Christianity
- counters all forms of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination, racism and the misuse of religion for national and political domination
- affirms that in honest dialogue each person remains loyal to his or her own essential faith commitment, recognizing in the other person his or her integrity and otherness
- coordinates worldwide activities through conferences held regularly in different countries
- encourages research and education to promote interreligious understanding among students, teachers, religious leaders, and scholars
- performs outreach in regions that so far have little or no structured Jewish-Christian dialogue
- provides a platform for theological debate
[edit] Location
The international headquarters of the ICCJ are located in Heppenheim (Germany), in the house where the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber lived until Nazi persecution forced him to flee Germany.
[edit] The 10 Points of Seelisberg
In 1947 the ICCJ published a document after the Seelisberg Conference, giving 10 points in recommendation.
[edit] Recent activities
In 1993 ICCJ published "Jews and Christians in Search of a Common Religious Basis for Contributing Towards a Better World." This document "contains both separate Jewish perspectives and Christian perspectives concerning mutual communication and cooperation as well as a joint view of a common religious basis for Jews and Christians to work together for a better world..." [3]
The ICCJ runs a website, Jewish-Christian Relations, "which is devoted to fostering mutual respect and understanding between Christians and Jews around the world." [4]
In more recent years the ICCJ and its members increasingly engaged in the Abrahamic dialogue: the encounter between Jews, Christians and Muslims.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- International Council of Christians and Jews Official website
- JC Relations, a website donated to ICCJ in 2000 by Fritz B. Voll
