AJC Delegation Visits with Israeli Christian Leaders

[Ari Gordon <gordona@ajc.org>]

AJC Delegation Visits with Israeli Christian Leaders

July 21, 2011 - Jerusalem - An AJC leadership delegation met this week with the 
heads of major Christian institutions in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 
as well as with government officials responsible for their welfare. 

In Jerusalem and the Galilee the AJC leaders from across the United States met 
with the leading patriarchs, bishops and clergy of the various Orthodox, 
Catholic and Protestant communities that minister to the approximately 200,000 
Christians living in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The group met with 
the leadership of the Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates; the Melkhite, 
Lutheran and Anglican churches; as well as with the Papal Nuncio to Israel and 
Apostolic Delegate in the Holy Land. 

AJC's ongoing work with religious minorities in Israel is led by Rabbi David 
Rosen, AJC's International Director of Interreligious Affairs, who is based in 
Jerusalem. The meetings provided the opportunity for frank discussions with the 
visiting AJC leaders regarding both domestic issues and the Arab-Israeli 
conflict.  The Christian leaders described the challenges facing Israel's Arab 
Christian minority, their commitment to being an integral part of the life in 
the State, as well as their desire to play a constructive role in the region as 
a whole.

"AJC's interreligious activity brings us into regular contact with American 
Christian friends of Israel genuinely concerned about the situation of their 
co-religionists in the Holy Land," said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC's director of 
Interreligious and Intergroup Relations, who is based at AJC headquarters in 
New York. "The region's Christians are symbolically important to Christians 
everywhere.  As Jews, it is both a strategic interest and a moral imperative 
that motivates us to build and maintain good relations with Israel's diverse 
and vibrant Christian communities."

The AJC group also met with several Israeli politicians and officials 
responsible for Israel's relations with Christian populations, including 
Israel's Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaacov Margi, and Danny Ayalon, 
Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
In addition, the AJC delegation met with prominent Muslim religious leaders.

AJC leaders expressed solidarity with Israel's Christian minority and applauded 
the ongoing growth and vitality of Israel's Christian population since its 
founding. They also emphasized to government officials the importance that the 
welfare of these communities holds for American Christians and Jews.

>Ari M. Gordon
>Special Advisor, Interreligious
>and Intergroup Relations
>American Jewish Committee
>165 E56th Street
>New York, NY 10022
>(212)891-6717