The kehillot at the Hebrew University

On Wednesday, February 1, 2012, a “Day for Interreligious Understanding” was organized at the Hebrew University, in order to promote a better understanding of the diverse religious traditions present in Israel. I was invited for this event to present the Hebrew speaking Catholic community to the audience of students on Mount Scopus. The meeting took place at 14.00, in the Forum of the University, and I explained briefly and simply how the kehillot developed in Israel since their founding and the principles upon which they were founded.

The students who participated were predominantly Jewish, religious and secular, who listened with great interest to the talk and asked questions about a variety of subjects. At the end of the time that had been fixed, the meeting continued informally in the form of a conversation and important questions were asked about the Christian perspective in general and about the Jewish presence in the Church. For most of the audience it was new to hear about the significant changes that had taken place with regard to the Jewish people in the teaching and life of the Church in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Many had not yet heard about these developments.

Within the framework of this day, there were also talks from a Muslim, a Druze and a conversation between a Buddhist monk and a Catholic monk, our brother Oscar the Franciscan.

Such events are important in our time because they open up an honest and authentic dialogue with the purpose of wider knowledge and encourage renewed mutual respect.