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Dialogue on Several Continents
Several Authors

In Europe.
Progress towards Jewish-Christian dialogue in Europe basically has been determined by the experiences of World War II — the terrible murder of a large part of the Jewish population, the struggle against the Nazis by the Resistance, the common sharing of suffering and tragedy. Hidden away in refuges or even in the concentration camps men dared to hope for a new future. From the friendship of those who have known these experiences, a strong impulse has grown to create a real bond between Jews and Christians.

In the beginning there were only a few small groups which tried to improve relations and eliminate the traditional prejudices. Since the declaration of Seelisberg in 1947 the Amitiés Judéo-Chrétiens have spread throughout France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium as have The Council of Christians and Jews which were started before the war. They regularly organize talks which no longer merely discuss antisemitism or lecture in innocuous terms about the Bible, but rather try to initiate the Christian public to a better understanding of Judaism. These lectures are usually followed by embryonic discussion that is a small beginning to dialogue. It is true that the vitality of the French Amitiés has suffered after the Six-Day War because the reaction of its directors was judged too slow and too faint at a time when Israel was threatened with genocide. Nevertheless, it has survived this crisis and even founded new sections. Its national congress, delayed by recent events in France, will undoubtedly work out a new point of departure from this experience.

In general, European Jewish-Christian dialogue is still at the preliminary stage. However, much has been done since Seelisberg to bring together Jews and Christians. Not only has the Roman Catholic Church in its Council Acts — as the World Council of Churches did before at Amsterdam and New Delhi — solemnly repudiated antisemitism, insisted upon the biblical and Jewish sources of Christian faith, not only has Vatican II asked for a more profound study of these sources, the revision of the catechism, but it has proclaimed the right of religious freedom and required respect for all other religions while repudiating proselityzing. The revision of the Catholic catechism is far. from being finished, but it has made perceptible progress in all European countries. One can foresee the day when religious teaching will prepare all Christians not for prejudice, but for a Christian attitude that is open to true dialogue. In this line, the Chief Rabbi of France was consulted by the bishop in charge of catechetical renewal in order to set up a new text that will serve as a model for all others.

In Rome, Paris, Vienna, and elsewhere, a growing number of Christians, although still limited, are beginning to study post-biblical Judaism, first, to know the Bible better, but also to engage in a more valid dialogue as well as to teach Christians about Jews, and in so doing create an atmosphere in which they need no longer fear one another but can work together. This same end of reconciliation which moves towards dialogue is pursued, at least as a secondary objective, by other organizations, such as: Les Sessions d'Hébreu Biblique in France, which always include lectures on postbiblical Judaism; La Fraternité d'Abraham, centered in Paris, which has as its purpose the reconciliation of Jews, Christians and Muslims; the Segretariato di Attività Ecumenica in Italy, whose sessions of ecumenical formation include at least one talk by a Jew; Sidic in Rome has begun to organize lectures on Judaism for a public primarily Christian, and in part seminarian; the Centre for Biblical and Jewish Studies in London has, for several years, brought together Jews and Christians. A certain number of reviews, for example Frei burger Rundbrief, Emuna, Rencontre, Encounter Today, have the same purpose — to inform and to open the Christian world to Jews — but their circulation is still small. One must mention also the youth meetings held at Strasbourg during the summer of 1967, those at Halle in Germany, at Vienna and the camp in the Berlin region, summer 1968. All these have the sole aim of giving a better understanding of Jews and Christians to the next generation.

The first condition for beginning a dialogue is that the two partners want it. But, if Christian antisemitism has certainly diminished since the holocaust and the establishment of Israel, and by the progress of both the biblical movement and ecumenical principles in the Church, as well as the revision, already advanced in certain countries, of the Christian catechism along the lines of the Ten Points of Seelisberg, unhappily one cannot say that it is dead. Officially, antisemitism has a bad press, but a great many prejudices are more or less camouflaged, breeding and subsisting, which curb the ordinary social relations between Jews and Christians in all sections of society. However, one can say that there has been some progress, and in all the European countries there are an important number of Christians either already open to dialogue, or who would be if they were awakened to its necessity. A new fact to note — several decades ago the most fervent Christians were, at the same time, those well-imbued with anti-Jewish prejudice, but now the best formed, those who have understood the spirit of John XXIII, are the most open.

On the Jewish side, it is the most liberal who seek to intensify their relations with the surrounding society, whether it is Christian or not. This eagerness is greatly moderated among those who are more orthodox in Jewish religious practice, and it is still more limited among those responsible for the Jewish community. But among all there is an acute consciousness of the long historyof persecution. Here are the objections that our Jewish brothers make to our desire for dialogue: Does the Church, which tried to convert the Jews by every means, physical and spiritual, considering them infidels, now respect their faithfulness to the Covenant of Sinai? Does this Church, of which certain members have risked or given their lives in order to save Jews, but which has never officially protested solemnly before the world as one body, which has not joined together with the people of the Bible who have suffered one genocide and then were threatened with a second (May-June, 1967), does this Church truly offer the hand of a brother? From such a mass of enemies of Judaism, of Jews, could it truly change so quickly into a friend and merit the friendship and trust of the Jewish people? It is normal that those responsible for the spiritual life of Judaism should be reticent about multiplying and deepening Jewish-Christian relations. Regular association with non-Jews has always favoured dejudaization, even mixed marriages of which the children often stop regular practice of Judaism. Of course, it is desirable that Jews should not have to endure antisemitism, discrimination, social ostracism. But is the resistance of the Jewish people to assimilation, by which they risk disappearance as a people, not helped by certain social barriers? And the Church, has it really renounced proselityzing? If yes, have all Christians understood? Some recent declarations can make one doubt it. All these, and a great many other considerations, show that the majority of rabbis do not look favourably on the creation and spread of Jewish-Christian dialogue, especially when it touches on religious subjects. In contrast, they willingly accept to cooperate in any social matter which does not require too intimate an association nor theological conversations.

Another obstacle to the establishment and to the extension in breadth and depth of dialogue comes from mutual ignorance, which often creates a dialogue of the deaf. In effect, in order to exchange profound ideas it is necessary to speak the same language, to know exactly what the other means when he uses a religious vocabulary, and to have a clear idea of the other's theology. There are a few Christian specialists, as rare as the Jewish professors of the history of religions; one can almost count them on one's fingers. Both Judaism and Christianity are supported by traditions which give their respective meanings to the Bible. Besides this, Judaism is expressed in a formidable Hebrew and Aramean literature, two languages that even Christian exegetes read with some difficulty. It is only during these last years that a limited number of Christian theologians have begun to realize that a knowledge of this Jewish tradition could be precious for a better understanding of the two Testaments. Among Catholic theological faculties, the Biblicum of Rome and the Institut Catholique of Paris give a few courses in rabbinical literature. Also during these last years there have been some Jewish-Christian meetings on the level of specialists, such as the international and national conferences at Cambridge, the Symposium at Strasbourg, that of Arnoldshain on Continuity and Discontinuity: an analysis of a vocabulary founded on the Bible and the Talmud. In these meetings, there is a real beginning to a true Jewish-Christian dialogue, but it is still limited to a very small number of speakers who have barely begun to be understood. Most of the Christian lecturers who speak on biblical subjects before Jews show that they know very little about rabbinical sources, and it is unusual for Christians, hearing a talk on the Bible by a rabbi, not to he confused by what they hear. Thus, there are intellectual difficulties to overcome in order to have a dialogue that will go beyond the preliminary professions of mutual good intentions and the struggle against antisemitic prejudice.

In most western European countries there is some initiative that moves in the sense of real exchange, but it is still very little. The people touched by these efforts are limited and it interests only a small number of religious officials. There are reticences on both sides, and there remain some serious obstacles to overcome — ignorance, prejudice, indifference — as well as serious stumbling blocks to avoid. Jewish-Christian dialogue in Europe is still merely outlined and, if onecan hope to see it develop, one will certainly not see it progress very rapidly.

Sr. Marie Despina

In Israel.
For several years, Christians and Jews have been meeting together in Israel for the purpose of establishing better understanding, in an atmosphere of friendship and willingness to learn from one another. Several groups were established for this specific purpose. Other encounters between the two communities are the indirect result of the educational or spiritual activities of various institutions or individuals established in Israel. Finally, still other groups have been organized after the Six-Day War for the purpose of making an approach possible between the citizens of east and west Jerusalem. The following is a summary of the main groups or activities whose aim is to work for dialogue between Christians and Jews.


I.
Christian groups established to gain a better understanding of Judaism and to prepare for Jewish-Christian dialogue:

1) Catholic groups
. Ratisbonne, the Fathers of Notre Dame de Sion in Jerusalem
. House of St. Isaiah, Dominicans in Jerusalem, concentration on studies in post-biblical Judaism
. Studium of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Sion in Jerusalem and Ain Karem, where the Sisters receive a general basis in Judaism.
In addition to their academic work in Jewish sciences, these groups engage in other activities such as discussions and meetings, all of which, along with a liturgy in Hebrew, help prepare for true Jewish-Christian dialogue.

2) Protestant groups
. The American Institute for Holy Land Studies
. The Swedish Institute.
These two institutions are intended to complete the formation of future ministers of religion.


II.
Groups founded specifically for « dialogue a:

1) The inter-religious committee in Israel was founded in 1959 to facilitate relations between different religious groups in Israel and to promote better understanding among them. The honorary president was the now deceased Professor Martin Buber. The present secretary is Professor Zwi Werblowski, head of the department of humanities of the University of Jerusalem. Two major achievements of the committee must be mentioned: a solemn meeting in June 1963 to honour the memory of Pope John XXIII shortly after his death; and the translation into Hebrew and subsequent publication of the encyclical Pacem in
Terris.

2) The « Rainbow Club a in Jerusalem. This group was founded in 1964 and is restricted to nine Jewish members (Orthodox, Liberals and non-traditionalists) and nine Christians (Catholic priests of whom one is an Arab Melkite, Anglican pastors and representatives of different protestant Churches). The members, all well-known personalities in Israel, gather once a month in one or another of their homes. After a short prayer (reading of a psalm and a silent meditation), a paper is read, usually in English, alternately by a Jew and a Christian. After a buffet, the paper is discussed by the group. The following are examples of some of the subjects treated:
. Idea and contemporary practice of holiness in Judaism
. Same subject from a Catholic viewpoint . Jewish liturgical renewal in Israel
. Image of « the Jew » in the theology of Karl Barth
. Religious significance of the kibbutz
. State of Israel and Jewish-Christian dialogue
. The Church's document on the Jewish people; the Glion consultation of 1966 (the WCC)
. The theological implications of the newattitude of the Catholic Church towards Mission
. The Torah and the State, etc...

A document in English entitled «Thoughts on world reactions to the 1967 crisis in the Middle East » by Christian members of the Rainbow Club was edited and published in April 1968.

3) The Students' Ecumenical Discussion Group was founded in 1961 by Rev. Peter Schneider, Anglican. It consists of about 30 students, mostly Protestants, but also some Jews and Catholics, who have come from other countries to finish their theological studies in Jerusalem. Meetings are held twice a month to discuss and listen to different points of view on questions concerning Jewish-Christian dialogue. Each year a special theme is chosen on which specialists are invited to speak. Examples:
. The Jews in Christian literature (Augustine, Luther, Karl Barth...)
. Situations of conflict in Israel (between Christians and Jews, Jews and Arabs, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, etc.).

4) Inter-religious group in Tel-Aviv. Founded in 1964. About 30 Jews and Catholics gather each week in an apartment in Tel Aviv. Biblical, philosophical and theological questions are commented upon and discussed in Hebrew. A good library is available to all.

5) Dutch-speaking group. This group of Jews, Protestants, and Catholics consists of about 80 Dutch-speaking persons. There is one meeting a year, held each time in a different part of the country. It consists in a discussion of a religious topic from four points of view: religious Jewry, a-religious Jewry, Catholic, and Protestant.

6) Theological Fraternity of Jerusalem. This group, consisting only of Christians from different Churches, meets once a month to discuss some theological aspect of ecumenism having to do with Israel (mystery, destiny, the State...). Sometimes a Jewish scholar is invited to speak. This fraternity prepares Christian theologians to dialogue with Jews.


III.
Indirect contacts resulting from education or spiritual activities of groups established in Israel.

1) In the institutes of higher Biblical studies (the Jesuit Pontifical Biblical Institute, the Dominican Ecole Biblique of St. Stephen) both professors and students who come from many different countries have frequent contact with their Israeli colleagues in university circles.

2) Communities of prayer and work (the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Jesus, the religious of the Laure of Beit Netofa in Galilee, the dispensary of the Sisters of Nazareth at Acco and, before their departure from Israel, the Companions of Jesus the Carpenter), charitable and educational institutions {Sisters of Charity in Jerusalem, different institutions and groups in Nazareth), Christians employed in Israeli institutions of social services, hospitals or tourism, all increase opportunities of mutual understanding and friendship.


IV.
Contacts established in Jerusalem after the Six-Day War.
Finally, one of the consequences of the unification of Jerusalem in June 1967 was to multiply the attempts at establishing relations between the inhabitants of East and West Jerusalem. On both sides of the former border, Christians played a role in working for peace, thus contributing to the effort at promoting dialogue.

1) Thanks to the initiative of a Jewish Israeli educator who obtained the generous cooperation of a Muslim school, of the Convent of the Ecce Homo, of many Israeli professors and of a Syrian priest-professor, several classes were begun in Jerusalem to teach Hebrew to Arabs and Arabic to Israelis. The instruction is complimented by outings and other gatherings which reinforce the good comradeship which has already developed within the groups.

2) Many more initiatives than can be mentioned here were taken to promote understanding between Jews, Muslims and Christians.

In concluding these short remarks on Jewish-Christian dialogue in Israel, their ecumenical character must be emphasized: on the Christian side several Churches are always represented. The fraternal character of the different meetings must also be noted. Given the high caliber of the members who took part, the dialogue was always deep and the bonds of friendship and understanding which have developed have surpassed our greatest hopes.

B. Hussar, O.P.


In the United States.
The Jewish-Christian dialogue in the United States is personalist and pluralist in character. It is, in other terms, concerned primarily with people and marked with variety.

Its overall aim is perhaps best described in the American Bishops' Guidelines for Catholic-Jewish Relations in these words: a The general aim of all Catholic-Jewish meetings is to increase our understanding both of Judaism and the Catholic faith, eliminate sources of tension and misunderstanding, initiate dialogues or conversation on different levels, multiply inter-group meetings between Catholics and Jews, and promote cooperative social action ». Such a variegated and pragmatic program is both its strength and its weakness. Its strength because it is well adapted to a country that is itself pluralist in culture and spirit and where, moreover, millions of Jews live among still more millions of Christians in daily concourse. Its weakness because in this conception of the dialogue the intellectual dimension runs the risk of being slighted. It would be a mistake to conclude from this, however, that the dialogue in America has taken an anti-intellectual, or even a non-intellectual turn. Its intellectual content has, on the contrary, held up very well. The Symposia at Latrobe (recorded in Torah and Gospel) and at Harvard (to be published), among others, are indicative of this.

Particularly interesting are the many attempts to combine the intellectual and popular approaches. A recent symposium at Loyola College in Cincinnati is a good example. On that occasion Fr. John McKenzie, S.J., and Rabbi Samuel Sandmel, two recognized scholars of the New Testament, for three days discussed « The Parting of the Ways » before groups of teachers, students and, on occasion, the general public. It was an exploration in depth before a sizeable audience, with good results.


Also noteworthy are the Institutes of Jewish-Christian Studies, of which three were conducted in the summer of 1967 and five this summer in leading Catholic colleges across the country. The Institutes comprise an intensive two weeks of courses (sometimes for three academic credits) given by qualified scholars, mostly Jewish, on a wide range of subjects of interest and importance to Christian students of Judaism and Jewish-Christian relations. The participants are usually limited to teachers or students with a Master of Arts degree. The rationale behind the Institutes is that Christians should learn about Judaism mainly from Jews. All of them have been enthusiastically endorsed by both faculty and participants. These institutes apparently are the most promising development thus far on the American scene.

Looking over this scene as a whole, it is possible to divide the sundry developments into three main categories: popular, intermediate, and academic. The first is represented by the much publicized « living room dialogues » and similar simple meetings of Christians and Jews on a half social, half dialogical basis. Actually, they constitute a minor part of the Jewish-Christian encounter. There can be no doubt about their interpersonal or social value, but question can be put on their standing as authentic dialogue.

The intermediate efforts, which comprise the majority, have taken the form of one- or two-day conferences, usually on Catholic college campuses, which bring together some one or two hundred educated and professional people to listen to papers usually on sociological themes concerned with Jewish or Christian stereotypes, tensions and conflicts. The themes are discussed further as the conference breaks into small groups. Hundreds of these conferences have been staged for the last several years and have no doubt contributed to changing the Jewish-Christian climate for the better in many communities.

The academic level, of course, presents the greatest challenge and the greatest difficulties. The difficulties are both internal and external. Internal are the difficulties inherent in the proper choice of subject matter and the availability of adequate scholarship. These are gradually dissipating as scholarly interest in Jewish-Christian issues grows and successful colloquia on hitherto unbroachable areas multiply.

But the chief difficulty is external. Official Jewish Orthodoxy, and others again, rule out as a matter of policy theological discussion of any kind. This stance creates a serious bar to progress of the dialogue. Even as fears of the dialogue as a disguised method to convert dwindle, the objection is still raised: The Jewish-Christian dialogue is futile because Christianity and Judaism are ultimately theologically incompatible, mutually exclusive. In the words of one Rabbi, theological dialogue is an « exercise in futility » because, unlike inter-Christian dialogue, it must always finally end in a mutual No. The objection is clearly a weighty one and indeed bears upon the concept of dialogue. Those who thus object obviously view dialogue as necessarily ending either in theological agreement or in futility. Such a dilemma is, it would seem, doubly false. The end of dialogue is not — or at least need not be — theological agreement, but rather mutual understanding (induding, and I might say, especially, theological) and interpersonal reconciliation. The charge of futility, moreover, has not been borne out by experience. Many discussions between Christians and Jews on subjects as pointed as Messianism, Pharisaism, Conversion, the a end of days », antisemitism, and the like, have led not to total agreement, of course, but to most insightful and fruitful results for both discussants. There is no question but that over the centuries our disagreements and exclusiveness have been overextended.
Many rabbis and Jewish scholars have engaged in theological dialogue with their Christian counterparts. The success they have had can only be seen as a promise that theology will one day take its proper place at the core of the Jewish-Christian dialogue.

E. H. Flannery


In Canada.
In this country, dialogue between Christians and Jews, still in the initial stages, has been provoked by the ecumenical movement among the separated Christian Churches. For over ten years, Catholics in Montreal, one of the first cities in America to carry out such an initiative, have been meeting with protestants in theological dialogue. As these discuss their common origin the desire is awakened for a better knowledge of the Jewish people and Judaism.

Recalling the social structure encountered by the Jewish immigrants of the 1880's, this new situation can be appraised at its worth. Before the Russian pogroms hastened the immigration there were but several thousand Jews living in Canada. The large groups arriving in the 80's were faced with ethnic-religious-cultural settlements living in ignorance of one another and in reciprocal hostility, heightened by the difference of languages. Thus the new arrivals formed a third group safeguarding their cultural heritage.

In the early 1950's the first Amitié JudéoChrétienne of Canada was formed in Quebec having as specific aim the exchange of ideas on the religious level. In 1962 the Rev. Butcher, Presbyterian pastor, could already point out that,through their desire to ameliorate past relations with the Jews, Catholics and Protestants had found the opportunity to reflect in common with them.
A dialogue which might be called ecumenical, in the wide sense of the word, between Christian theologians and rabbis was undertaken in 1964 following the initiative of several theologians of different Christian Churches. It culminated in an encounter, laboriously prepared, of two monologues listened to in mutual respect but without the anticipated dialogue. The necessary climate of confidence was still absent. Since then a change in outlook is gradually taking place. Over the past few years, various Universities across the country, such as Loyola College in Montreal and Hillel House in Winnipeg, have organized study days between Christians and Jews. The programs consist of conferences, small group discussions, and meals in common, in an atmosphere of openness and willingness to learn from the other.

Worthy of note is the nomination of two rabbis, an Orthodox and a Reform, to the teaching staff of the Jesuit directed Loyola College where they offer courses in Judaism, as well as the collaboration between the MI-CA-EL Centre (specifically dedicated to Jewish-Christian rapprochement) and the Jewish Public Library of Montreal. Such measures point to a progress in Jewish-Christian relations as compared with the existing situation some ten years ago.
For six years now, Rev. Roland de Corneille, an Anglican clergyman of Toronto, has been directing a lay-dialogue between Anglicans and Jews, both possessing firm religious convictions. In 1966, the endeavour was broadened to include other Christian Churches. And last year saw the experiment taken up with great success in Montreal under Rev. de Corneillé s direction.
These are but a few of the positive initiatives which are helping to develop the necessary understanding and confidence for a true atmosphere of dialogue.

A. C. Willett