This letter was sent by Pope Francis on Feb. 2 to Karma Ben Johanan, who teaches at the department of comparative religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Ben Johanan was the coordinator of the open letter to the pope from more than 400 Jewish rabbis and scholars last November.

Dear brothers and sisters,

We are experiencing a moment of great travail. Wars and divisions are increasing all over the world. We are truly, as I said some time ago, in the midst of a sort of “piecemeal world war”, with serious consequences on the lives of many populations.

Unfortunately, even the Holy Land has not been spared this pain, and since October 7 it too has been cast into a spiral of unprecedented violence. My heart is torn at the sight of what is happening in the Holy Land, by the power of so much division and so much hatred.
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We write as Jewish scholars, religious leaders, and long-time practitioners in Jewish-Christian dialogue, in Israel, America, and Europe, to remind our brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church of “the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock” (Nostra Aetate #4) in a time of distress and anguish for Jews all over the world.
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In an historic meeting to discuss just peace in the Holy Land, Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca on 23 November. This marks the first meeting between WCC leadership and an Israeli president.
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After travelling to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv in the last week for a climate justice meeting, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners were detained or deported in a manner that WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit terms both unprecedented and intolerable.

“The WCC protests the excessive, unreasonable and wholly unwarranted treatment by the Israeli authorities of these representatives of WCC member churches and staff travelling to engage in discussions on climate change and environmental stewardship, at the invitation of and hosted by WCC’s member churches in the region,” he said.

Members of the WCC’s Working Group on Climate Change from as many as 13 countries reported they were held for hours of interrogation, including tough intimidation and detention in prison-like conditions for up to three days — a very difficult experience, Tveit said. “We react in different ways emotionally to experiences like this. For all of them, I think it was totally unexpected and very disturbing, for most of them shocking, as they have never experienced anything like this before.”

Although there have been small incidents in the past, there has been nothing approaching this level of intimidation, Tveit added.
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“It is our sincere desire and prayer, shared with many Jews and Muslims, that there should be no hostilities among neighbours in Israel and Palestine, and beyond, in the whole Middle East region.” These were the words of the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, shared in his message for the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel (WWPPI), observed from 21 to 27 September.

The theme of the week this year is “God has broken down the dividing walls”.

“We pray and work for the peace desperately needed by both Palestinians and Israelis. As we pray that the wall will fall, I appeal to you to promote participation in this year’s WWPPI,” said the WCC general secretary in his invitation to churches and ecumenical partners.
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In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, The United Church of Canada has asked for clear reassurance that the government does not intend to limit the democratic rights and freedoms of individuals and organizations opposed to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

The church’s letter was prompted by a recent CBC news story that cited the possibility of the government using hate crime laws to clamp down on activities they consider to be singling out Israel for criticism.

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Continuing with a long-time commitment of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a recent statement issued by Council’s chief governing body reaffirms churches’ “solidarity with those working for peace with justice in Palestine and Israel”. The statement encourages churches to make responsible decisions regarding their investments which have an impact on the current situation in the region.

The statement titled Economic Measures and Christian Responsibility towards Israel and Palestine was adopted at the WCC Central Committee meeting on 8 July in Geneva, Switzerland.

The document calls “targeted economic measures” an important “non-violent strategy for promoting peace and abating violence”. Efforts from the WCC member churches in implementing responsible economic measures with related impact on Israel and Palestine situation were acknowledged in the statement.
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In a letter to the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher, Archbishop of Gatineau and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), has expressed the concerns of the CCCB about the security wall in the Cremisan Valley, near Bethlehem. Archbishop Durocher is also a signatory of a statement issued today by the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land on a proposed extension of the Israeli security wall. This situation will affect the lives of many Christian families and the pastoral work of the religious communities in this area of the Holy Land.

In his letter to Mr. Baird, Archbishop Durocher conveys the concerns of the Catholic Bishops of Canada: “we ask your government to raise our objections about the extension of the security wall in the Cremisan Valley, with the hope that a change to the present Israeli plan could become one step forward toward making it possible for Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and justice.”
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The Anti-Defamation League commends the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) for its comprehensive statement about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which calls on religious institutions and groups to refrain from issuing one-sided declarations in attempting to promote a resolution to the dispute.

The statement by ICCJ, one of the world’s oldest and most respected international Christian-Jewish organizations, urges religious bodies and leaders to recommit themselves to promote understanding and reconciliation, and pursue the hard work of authentic interfaith dialogue.
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This Pentecost Sunday, May 27, Anglican and Lutheran leaders in the Holy Land will issue a joint pastoral letter informing their churches that they are fully committed to establishing closer relations, and in time, full communion. The letter was a result of a meeting held in Jerusalem May 15 to 21 in which national leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) were invited to share their journey into full communion.

Read the complete story by Marites N. Sison from the Anglican Journal
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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger today signed a joint Declaration which sets out a framework for continuing dialogue between them. Dr Williams described the agreement as historic: “This is a most significant step in developing better mutual understanding and trust between the Anglican Communion and the Chief Rabbinate and worldwide Judaism.”
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The United Church of Canada‘s 39th General Council has rejected a proposal calling for divestment from Israel, in favour of what is described as a “pro-peace” investment strategy. The proposal originally presented to the General Council called for the church and its congregations to selectively divest from corporations that support or contribute to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The General Council is held every three years as the highest decision making body in the United Church of Canada (UCC). The meeting August 13 to 19 was in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Approximately 400 commissioners from across Canada participated in the General Council meeting.
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“Pourquoi une destruction si épouvantable?” C’est la question que les membres d’une délégation pastorale œcuménique n’ont cessé d’entendre à propos des attaques israéliennes contre le Liban.

Chargée par le Conseil œcuménique des Eglises (COE), la Conférence des Eglises européennes (KEK), la Fédération luthérienne mondiale (FLM) et l’Alliance réformée mondiale (ARM) d’exprimer la solidarité du monde œcuménique envers les Eglises et les populations touchées par le conflit au Moyen Orient, la délégation est rentrée avec pour mandat de transmettre à la famille œcuménique internationale les espoirs et les attentes des Eglises du Liban, de Palestine et d’Israël.
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“Why such awful destruction?” was the question heard over and over again by members of an ecumenical pastoral delegation in relation to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

Entrusted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) with the mission of expressing global ecumenical solidarity with churches and people affected by the conflict in the Middle East, the delegation returned with the task of transmitting the hopes and expectations of the churches in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel to the international ecumenical family.
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The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism join church leaders and inter-church organizations around the world in urging an immediate cessation of hostilities in the conflict between Israel and Hezbullah. The CCE‘s new Executive Director Anthony Mansour and the Associate Director Adèle Brodeur write: “We call for an immediate implementation of
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Church leaders and inter-church organizations around the world have been speaking out about the current crisis in the Middle East, and despite differences in perspective, are urging an immediate ceasefire.
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Un rapport de voyage par Dr. Stuart Brown, Centre canadien d’oecuménisme. Le but de ce voyage était d’assister à un colloque international sur les investissements responsables : « Une Réponse non violente à l’occupation israélienne? » Notre Centre s’est inscrit parmi les soixante agences qui ont parrainé le colloque, qui était organisé par les Amis canadiens du Sabeel.
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In April 2005 the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem issued A Call for Morally Responsible Investment: A Non-Violent Response to the Israeli Occupation [PDF]. An international conference under the same title will be held in Toronto from 26-29 October 2005. This international conference for CROs (Church Related Organizations) and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) seeks
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On a visit to Jerusalem in the mid-1990s, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, said ruefully that so many Palestinian Christians were emigrating in despair from the West Bank that the Christian holy places would soon become Disneyland attractions rather than places of “living worship”.

Three and half years into a second intifada, the situation is still deteriorating. Only one branch of Christianity — Christian Zionism — feels comfortable in the Holy Land these days. The reason is simple: while the Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Churches line up behind their embattled and dwindling Palestinian flocks to protest against Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank and the expansion of settlements there, Christian Zionists stand shoulder to shoulder or even comfortably to the right of Likud and the Orthodox rabbis.

Among its demands are more Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the relocation of Palestinians to neighbouring Jordan and even the razing of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque to make way for the third Jewish Temple.
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