Interfaith Affairs
Background
Interfaith issues at the Religious Action Center exist on two separate levels — through coalitions and in our communities. The Reform Movement works with various religious groups on several social justice issues. Despite certain theological differences, the Religious Action Center has found common ground with other religious groups, such as the National Council of Churches, United Methodist Church, and the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs. Through coalition work, we have been able to set aside our differences and work toward common goals, such as preserving basic fundamental human rights, cherished by faith communities. The Religious Action Center also deals with the relationship between the Reform Jewish community and other religious groups, outside of the political arena, on a local and national level.
Catholic- Jewish Relations
Over the last half-century we have witnessed extraordinary progress in Catholic-Jewish relations. When Pope John XXIII convened Vatican II, he instituted a process intended to overcome the anti-Semitic teachings that were deeply rooted in Catholic sacred literature. This process led to the publication in 1965 of Nostra Aetate, which removed the office teaching that Jews are rejected by God and responsible for the murder of the son of God. This document was only the first step in a much broader process of reconciliation that would eventually lead to purging anti-Jewish elements from the church's liturgy and to repudiating those doctrines that had long promoted contempt among Catholics for Jews and Judaism.
The initiative of John XXII was continued by many in the church. But the current pope, John Paul II, has been especially insistent that this effort be a priority of his papacy, and he has carried forward this work in a way that is both vigorous and daring. He was the first pope to visit a synagogue, the first to acknowledge the failure of individuals Catholics to deter the Holocaust and the first to call anti-Semitism a sin "against God and man."
On March 16, 1998, after eleven years of study, the Vatican released its long-awaited response to the Holocaust: We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah. Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, head of the Church's Commission, wrote the response for Religious Relations with the Jews. The statement is presented as a form of teshuva — repentance — for injustices inflicted upon Jews by Christians throughout history and, specifically, during the Holocaust. The Since the document's release numerous Catholic leaders, from France, Germany, Poland, Hungry, Holland, Switzerland, Lithuania, and America have made statements apologizing for the sins committed by officials or members of the Catholic Church.
As a political act, the Pope's visit to Israel was the culmination of his effort to build durable relations between Israel and the Vatican. In 1994, he extended full diplomatic recognition to Israel. His trip, the first official papal visit to Israel, is a historic Christian affirmation of the Jewish right to a sovereign homeland. . Prime Minister Ehud Barak emphasized that affirmation as the most important aspect of the week's events. After the Vatican formally announced the Pope's plan to visit Israel, Rabbi Michael Signer, the co-chair of the Commission on Interreligious Affairs issued a statement welcoming this opportunity "to advance mutual understanding between the Catholic Church and the Jewish and Muslim communities."
In his visit to Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, Pope John Paul II paid eloquent homage to the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide. He noted his own memories of the Nazi occupation of his native Poland and of Jewish childhood friends and neighbors who perished in the concentration camps.
On March 23, 2000, during the Joseph Klein Lecture on Judaic Affairs, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism discussed the current status of Catholic-Jewish relations, in a speech entitled "Good News, Bad News: Extraordinary Achievements and Current Tensions in Catholic-Jewish Relations".
Reform Jews and the Southern Baptist Convention
Last year, during the High Holidays, the Southern Baptists released a prayer booklet requesting its members pray for Jews to find Jesus during the upcoming Days of Awe. In response to this, Rabbi Eric Yoffie stated, "We respect the right of Southern Baptists to hold beliefs that are different from our own. But we do not welcome a campaign that singles out the Jewish people for conversionary activities, and which suggests that Jews must relinquish their faith for Baptists to strengthen their own."
Reform Jews and Muslims
In August 1999, a group of Jews and Muslims in Southern California came together to form a dialogue in the hopes of creating better understanding between the two communities. The dialogue group is composed of clergy and laity from both religious traditions. Working together, the group developed a Code of Ethics in Muslim-Jewish Dialogue. Jewish and Muslim leaders showed support for improving Muslim-Jewish relations, by signing on to the document. The Code of Ethics was announced at a press conference on December 6, 1999.
Interfaith Issues
Death Penalty
The Consultation on Jewish-Catholic relations has been meeting twice a year since 1987. On March 23, 1999, Catholic and Jewish leaders addressed the issue of capital punishment. Both groups agreed that the death penalty is in direct conflict with both traditions' belief in the sanctity of human life. In this spirit the two communities agreed to work together and within their own communities toward ending the death penalty. On December 6, 1999 the two groups released a press statement, announcing their joint effort to oppose the death penalty.
On March 9, 2000 at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) joined a group of prominent national religious leaders to announce the release of a letter signed by more than two dozen major religious organizations urging President Clinton to impose a federal death penalty moratorium.
Gun Control
On March 15, 2000, the Honorable Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, joined Rabbi David Saperstein, Rev. Jim Wallis, Rev. Richard Hanifen, Rev. Arthur Tafoya, and the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory at a press conference announcing an interfaith sign on letter urging stricter gun control. The letter addressing the national epidemic of gun violence gathered over a hundred signatures, including several major religious denominations as well as individual clergy.
The Religious Action Center worked with other religious and secular groups to coordinate planning for the Million Mom March . Speaking at an interfaith service preceding the march, Rabbi Marc Israel , Director of Congregational Relations called on religious groups to "work together within and across our faiths and together to build a nation in which we do not tolerate violence." Rabbi Eric Yoffie represented the entire religious community as he gave a speech at the event on the mall.
Jubilee 2000/ Debt Relief
Religious groups around the world are working together to address the issue of debt relief for impoverished countries. Citizen action groups, religious organizations, students and others gathered on the Mall in Washington D.C. on April 9, 2000 and made their voices heard. Rabbi David Saperstein addressed the crowd, extending a plea to "come together as a nation, as a people, as the wealthiest most affluent country in the history of the world and forgive this debt in the Jubilee year." The Sunday event was followed by Monday lobby visits to request members of Congress to voice their commitment to debt cancellation.
Position of the Reform Jewish Movement
URJ:
CCAR:
Commission on Interreligious Affairs
The Commission on Interreligious Affairs of Reform Judaism brings together the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) the North American Federation of Temple Brotherhoods/Jewish Chautququa Society (NFTB/JCS), and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Judith Hertz and Rabbi Michael Signer are the co-chairs of the Commission, which meets twice a year to discuss interfaith issues and the Reform Movement.
Interfaith Affairs and Jewish Values
In the Torah Jews are taught to accept others, without prejudice or bias. The Torah states "You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman, but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Eternal" (Leviticus19: 17-18).
Judaism also teaches the importance of working with others in the community to achieve social justice. "In a city where there are both Jews and Gentiles, the collectors of alms collect from both Jews and Gentiles; they feed the poor of both, visit the sick of both; bury both and restore the lost goods of both, for the sake of peace" (Yerushalmi Talmud, Tractate Demai).
