Pope Paul VI will be presented with a shofar as a gift from the Interfaith Committee of Israel by a group of students of Seton Hall University and clergymen from various parts of the country during their audience with him at the Vatican at the conclusion of their three-week study tour of Israel and Rome as part of the Holy Year, according to an announcement by former Congressman Herbert Tenzer of New York president of the America-Israel Friendship League, co-sponsor of the tour.
The presentation of the shofar to the Pope will take place on Aug. 27 as Jews the world over are preparing to observe Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 6 and 7. The inscription on the shofar to be presented to the Pope reads: “A gift to your Holiness Pope Paul VI, commemorating the Jubilee Year of 1975. May this shofar symbolize the peace and reconciliation among all people sought by you and us.”
The Israel Interfaith Committee, with head-quarters in Jerusalem, is headed by Prof. R.J. Zwi Werblovsky and comprises in its leadership Archbishop George Appleton, Archbishop Joseph M. Raya, Mayor Teddy Kollek, Sheikh Tawfik Mahmud Asleya, and other notables active in all three major religions.
Sister Rose Thering, associate professor of education, Seton Hall University, heads the group of Catholic students, educators and clergymen, which marks the second annual study program to Israel under scholarship grants named for New York labor leader, James Geoghegan, recipient of the 1974 America-Israel Friendship Award. The study tour, which includes a four-day pilgrimage to Rome, will include seminars in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Among the topics to be explored will be “Jerusalem, Past and Present,” “The Christian Presence Within Israel,” and “Israel’s Educational Efforts.”
The America-Israel Friendship League is engaged in the promotion and development of mutual friendship and understanding between the American and Israeli people through the interchange of cultural, educational, artistic and scientific knowledge between both countries.
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