Anti-Semitism, the Middle East conflict and Christian understanding of what Israel means to Jews were leading topics at the 7th National Conference on Christian-Jewish relations which just ended here.
The five days of dialogue, seminars and workshops drew some 900 Catholic, Protestant and Jewish participants, compared to the 60 who attended the first national conference held 10 years ago in Dayton, Ohio.
The Rev. Edward Flannery, who was the first director of the Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, declared that “no one today realizes the magnitude or intensity” of the problem of anti-Semitism and asserted that “the debt (of understanding) is entirely on the Christian side.”
Msgr. William Murphy, Undersecretary of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace, outlined the Vatican position on Israel, the Palestinians and the status of Jerusalem. Rabbi Walter Wurzburger, president of the Synagogue Council of America, the umbrella organization of the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox branches of Judaism, said that positive Vatican statements on Judaism have failed to go far enough.
Rev. J. Warren Jacobs, head of the United Methodist Church’s forum on Christian-Jewish relations, stressed that the issues of racial bigotry, human rights, religious liberty and the preservation of religious pluralism in America were the concerns of both Christians and Jews.
SAYS ANTI-SEMITISM IS PREVALENT
According to Flannery, anti-Semitism is prevalent “to some degree unconsciously in all of us.” He noted that in the last 10 years, three high U.S. government officials have been quoted as making anti-Semitic remarks, “one of them in the highest seat of government,” and suggested that there was a whitewash to try to disavow the impact of such remarks.
Flannery asked, “Is anti-Zionism anti-Semitism? …I would say not always, but often … To most Christians (Israel) was just another small Mediterranean state in trouble with its neighbors. To Jews it meant everything. To talk about a people or a nation without a land is a chimera.”
Murphy said the Vatican does not offer “a technical solution” to the Palestinian problem but “asserts that there is a pressing need to find a solution.” He said “The Holy See recognizes that the Palestinians have a self-identity as a people and that they have the right to have their legitimate aspirations realized.”
OUTLINES VATICAN’S POSITION ON ISRAEL
Regarding Israel, he said “The Holy See recognizes the factual existence of Israel, its right to exist, its right to secure borders and to all other rights that a sovereign nation possesses. The Holy See would have no problem ‘in principle’ with establishing diplomatic relations. However, there are certain difficulties and problems the Holy See would first want to have resolved.”
He did not elaborate on those problems but referred to “the importance of Jerusalem for all three religions,” Christianity, Judaism and Islamic, and said this “must be recognized by all the parties.”
“The status of the city must be clarified,” Murphy said. “The shrines, the resident populace and the pilgrims of all three religions must be taken into account … It does not matter to the Holy See who has political dominion over Jerusalem.
“However, whoever does have political dominion, and especially a state, it is not enough that the possessor of political dominion offer guarantees by itself. Rather, given the particular status of Jerusalem, that status must be ensured by international guarantees.”
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