Nostra aetate Conference and Book at Tel Aviv University

The conference began on Monday night with greetings from an array of Jewish and Catholic personalities including Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, Israeli Judge Elyakim Rubenstein, Rabbi David Rosen and others. The key note address on the 50 years since the publication of Nostra aetate was delivered by Tel Aviv University’s Professor Aviad Kleinberg.

The following day, a full schedule of conferences included panels on the theological aspects of the document, (the panel that included Cardinal Koch, Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Rabbi Rosen), on the educational challenges, on the other aspects of Nostra aetate including the dialogue with Islam (addressed by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, former President of the Council for Interreligious Dialogue) and dialogue with Christian Arabs in Israel (addressed by former Greek Catholic Archbishop of Galilee Elias Chacour). A final panel looked at some of the challenges ahead.

The conference was the occasion for the launching of a new book on Jewish Catholic dialogue in Hebrew. “In this time”, edited by Dina Porat, Karma ben Johanan and the late Ruth Braude, includes the important documents that have been published by the Catholic Church on the question of Jews and Judaism in the past fifty years. This is a very valuable resource for Hebrew language readers.