The New York Times, AP and the Jerusalem Post quoted Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s international director of interreligious affairs, about the Catholic Church’s new latin prayer for the Jews.

Rosen made the following statement regarding the new prayer, which still contains languague calling for Jews to recognize Jesus:

While we appreciate that the text avoids any derogatory language towards Jews, its regretful that the prayer explicitly calls for Jews to accept Christianity.

This differs greatly from the text in the current universal liturgy that prays for the salvation of the Jews in general terms.

We hope that through further dialogue, the full implications of the Second Vatican Council’s affirmation of the Jewish covenant might lead to a deeper understanding of the value of the Torah as the vehicle of salvation for the Jewish people.

President Bush, in his State of the Union address, argued forcefully for continuing charitable choice, his faith-based initiative, which sanctions the funneling of taxpayer dollars directly to houses of worship providing social services.

AJC cares deeply about both religious liberty and the provision of effective social services. But we have long raised concerns about the advisability and constitutionality of charitable choice. By allowing government funds to flow to pervasively religious entities, charitable choice unwisely opens the door to government advancement of religion, support for employment discrimination, and a general weakening of religious autonomy.

continue reading "President Bush Wrong on Charitable Choice"

Our Executive Director David Harris, concerned about hateful emails mischaracterizing Senator Barack Obama’s religious beliefs and character, joined with heads of other national Jewish organizations in an open letter to the Jewish community:

As leaders of the Jewish community, none of whose organizations will endorse or oppose any candidate for President, we feel compelled to speak out against certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent. Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo mischaracterizing Senator Barack Obama’s religious beliefs and who he is as a person.

These tactics attempt to drive a wedge between our community and a presidential candidate based on despicable and false attacks based on religion. We reject these efforts to manipulate members of our community into supporting or opposing candidates.

Attempts of this sort to mislead and inflame voters should not be part of our political discourse and should be rebuffed by all who believe in our democracy. Jewish voters, like all voters, should support whichever candidate they believe would make the best president. We urge everyone to make that decision based on the factual records of these candidates, and nothing less.

The story gained national attention through Richard Cohen’s Washington Post column , Michael Chabon’s Huffington Post response, The New York Times report , Politico’s coverage, JTA’s brief, and Shmuel Rosner’s Haaretz blog.

The Holy See recently announced that it is proud to be neutral – carbon neutral. Very shortly, in fact, the Vatican will become the fist sovereign state in the world to become entirely carbon neutral. It intends to plant trees in Hungary to offset the emissions used in Vatican City, to begin to convert their facilities’ energy sources to solar power and raise awareness through conferences and teaching about environmental responsibilities.

While the Catholic Church is by far the largest single Christian body in the world, they are by no means the only one concerned over the future of the environment. Concern for the future of our planet has quickly become a religious issue that transcends liberal and conservative labels, cuts across interreligious lines, and takes on theological significance in the sermons of religious leaders.

Catholics, Anglicans, Orthodox, Presbyterians, American Mainline Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists and Jews have begun to make “earth stewardship” both a political and religious imperative.

continue reading "“Caring for Creation” Gains Speed"

Friends, colleagues, even family members frequently admonish me that my universe of Jewish discourse consists primarily of active Jews. As a result, these well-wishers tell me, I am spending too much time addressing AJC leadership, where I work, the modern Orthodox community where I live, and the Jewish Theological Seminary, where I frequently teach. Rather than address the universe of committed Jews primarily, I am therefore urged to “get out of the bubble” and find out what is on the minds and hearts of Jews in the street.

continue reading "Jewish Identity and Jewish Peoplehood: Convergence or Divergence?"

Tashbih Sayyed was a very special human being, a friend of the Jewish people, and my friend. I first met him seven years ago when my organization, the American Jewish Committee, was launching an interfaith effort to initiate dialogue with Muslims. In our conversations, Tashbih exuded a quiet intensity, and a determination to make the world a better place. Little by little, I began to learn more about his personal experiences in Pakistan and how those experiences had shaped him into a defender of human rights in the Muslim world.

Tashbih was not only dedicated to discussing his vision of how the Muslim world could change. He was a passionate believer in the power of the press to educate the public in order to make those changes happen. He lived and breathed journalism, and more than once described his newspapers as “my life.” For him, immigrating to the United States was the opening of a new door of opportunity to express himself through his journalism, and freedom of speech was a precious gift that should not be squandered.

continue reading "Tashbih Sayyed - A Remembrance"