Jewish representation was only symbolic last weekend at a prayer vigil for peace in the Balkans organized by Pope John Paul II at Assisi, home of St. Francis.
The pope had invited leaders of European Christian churches as well as Jews and Moslems to take part in the two days of prayer, fasting, meditation and testimony Saturday and Sunday.
Orthodox Christian leaders, including those from the Serbian Orthodox Church, declined to attend.
Jews were represented by Rabbi David Rosen, the Jerusalem-based representative of the Anti-Defamation League, who is acting in discussions that are to lead to Vatican-Israeli relations. Also in attendance was the local ADL representative in Italy.
Tullia Zevi, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, expressed the solidarity of the Jewish community with the pope’s initiative but said Jewish leaders did not attend because the events began on Shabbat. They would not have been able to travel to Assisi, about 100 miles north of Rome.
She said Italian Jewish communities had decided to recite a special prayer for peace, coinciding with the Assisi meeting, in all Italian synagogues Saturday.
Another reason why European Jewish leaders did not attend was the fact that many were involved in a European Jewish Congress meeting that took place simultaneously in Warsaw.
Rosen said the decision that he and the Italian ADL representative would take part “sprang from the profound conviction that we had to be present where the voices of all religious, cultural and political groups who believe in a common action for the respect of individual and minority rights was raised loudly and decisively.”
He said he was “very happy” to participate in the gathering.
“This meeting is very important to demon strate, with our common stand, our common status as people created in the image of God and to bear witness that the evils that we see in the Balkan states are against the fundamental commitments of all our faiths.”
In another development, Italy’s Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement expressing “special and warm solidarity with the Jews” at a time when anti-Semitism seems to be increasing in Europe.
The statement was part of a message prepared for Italy’s third annual Day of Religious Dialogue with the Jewish People, to be held Jan. 17.
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