News Around the World

His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League meets with FAITH Director Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg

"This attack forms part of a disturbing global rise in antisemitic acts that represent an emboldened violent hatred, and endanger the security of communities that have lived peacefully for decades within multicultural societies. Such violent antisemitism constitutes a gross violation of basic human rights and cannot be tolerated in any democratic society," Rev. Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches 

Sydney Archbishop Fisher announced that the Catholic community would “redouble its efforts” to combat antisemitism through education and preaching. He also offered Catholic educational and counseling services to the Jewish community while their own institutions are “locked down or overwhelmed.”

Originally issued in 1965 during the Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate has become recognized as a landmark shift in the Roman Catholic Church's approach to other religions, especially Judaism. It has led to greater understand and engagement among many religions in the last 60 years.  

Dr. Barbara U. Meyer was awarded the 2025 SEELISBERG PRIZE, named in memory of the ground-breaking gathering that occurred in the small Swiss village of Seelisberg in1947 to address perennial Christian teachings of contempt for Jews and Judaism. 

In response to rising religious violence and polarization around the globe, the world’s leading interfaith dialogue organization The International Council of Christians and Jews is calling on people of good will from all faiths and none to endorse an extraordinary pledge to counter bigotry and hate by enhancing and rededicating themselves to interreligious dialogue.

The United States is facing the greatest crisis of public antisemitism in a century. Prominent figures—entertainers, athletes, media personalities, politicians—are using twenty-first century technologies to spread antisemitic lies and conspiracies to millions of people.  So-called “Christian” nationalists openly declare that true Christians hate Jews. Jews are being verbally and physically abused in the streets, vilified in social media, attacked on campuses, and assaulted and shot in their synagogues. 

The CCJR unanimously issues this urgent “Call to the Churches” to take concrete actions at this critical moment. 

We implore all churches to redouble their efforts to denounce antisemitism publicly as antithetical to the very essence of Christianity itself. 

An American rabbi has been knighted by the Pope, becoming only the ninth Jewish person to receive the honor in the Order’s nearly 200-year history.  The papal Order of St. Gregory recognizes people whose work has supported the Catholic Church, which can include Jews focused on interfaith projects.  “For more than 50 years, Rabbi James Rudin has worked to advance Catholic-Jewish relations, and interfaith relations on a wider scale, with extraordinary skill, dedication, and success,” Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, said in a statement. “The impact of this work continues to grow as successive generations build on the foundation Rabbi Rudin has established.”

In an extraordinary multifaith initiative, nearly 70 faith-based and humanitarian organizations joined together to address the Syrian refugee crisis.  More than 15,000 hygiene kits, packed with shampoo, toothbrushes, combs and towels were assembled by 800 volunteers, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. The boxes were then loaded on a container ship.   The kits contained other essentials such as  menstrual pads, flash lights and condoms, assembled specifically for the protection of women.  “People showed up to work side by side, and people who didn’t know each other from different religions then became friends,’’ said Project Director Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg.

In the first interfaith dialogue of its kind, leading Catholic and Jewish scholars and interfaith leaders participated in a conference to learn about Eastern Catholic Churches and their relationship to Judaism, Israel and the Roman Catholic Church.  The groundbreaking gathering was held in order for Catholic and Jewish leaders to learn together about the commonalities and distinctions between the Roman Catholic Church – which has been engaged in positive dialogue with the Jewish people since the 1965 Second Vatican Council – and the lesser known Eastern Catholic Churches.  They are a group of more than 20 individual Catholic churches around the world which have their own histories, liturgy, traditions and theology about Judaism but which are ecclesiastically united with the pope in Rome. These churches have a problematic relationship with Judaism and the State of Israel.