Jules Isaac and Pope John XXIII – 50 years

June 13th marks a momentous anniversary in the history of modern Jewish-Christian relations. Exactly fifty years ago, on June 13, 1960, the French Jewish historian Jules Isaac had a short private audience in the Vatican with Pope John XXIII, an audience that would prove to be a theological and historical turning-point. During that interview, Isaac presented the Pope with a dossier of materials based on Isaac's extensive wartime research into the roots of Christian anti-Semitism, in the hopes that this documentation could help to spur the upcoming Second Vatican Council to initiate a substantial change in Catholic attitudes towards Judaism.

The conversation proved to be a catalyst and, after a long and tortuous path, led to the Vatican II document on non-Christian relations called "Nostra Aetate," which is widely regarded today as a key building-block in the re-orienting of contemporary Christian attitudes towards Jews. Especially as living memory of Vatican II recedes into history, I believe it is particularly important that the memory of people like Jules Isaac be kept alive in our communities. I invite you to celebrate this important and historic anniversary.

May the memory of Jules Isaac and of Blessed Pope John XXIII continue to be a blessing to Jews and Christians.