During the week covered by this review, we received 7 articles on the following subjects:
Jewish/Christian Relations
Jewish Attitudes Concerning Christians
Interfaith Dialogue
Archaeology
Jewish/Christian Relations
Haaretz, August 29, 2014
Wojciech Lemański, a Catholic priest in Jasienica near Warsaw, is known for being active in support of Jews – especially the memorializing of Polish Jews during the Holocaust, for which he received Poland’s highest order of honor – and for his criticism of church policy. He is a “regular attendee” of memorial services such as the anniversary of the defeat of the Warsaw ghetto and a memorial prayer held annually at Treblinka. He has initiated the raising of monuments to Jews killed in the Holocaust, as well as the cleaning of Jewish cemeteries. However, in 2013 Lemański was forced to retire from his parish, being cited for unfit behavior. He refused to leave, and eventually a front-page article in the Polish edition of Newsweek caused the church to change his retirement to a posting in an institution for mentally injured children. Lemański continued his activities, however, and is now suspended from being a priest altogether. He has appealed this decision, and is now awaiting the ruling. “I can’t imagine being a priest without showing particular sensitivity to Jews, their tragedy and the need for dialogue,” says Lemański.
Maariv, August 29, 2014
The Norwegian Christian Democrat political party KRF (Kristelig Folkeparti) recently sent a delegation to Israel in order to “see what is happening here” firsthand. The delegation met with Israeli and Palestinian officials, and ended their tour with a special visit to Christian sites around the Sea of Galilee.
Jewish Attitudes Concerning Christians
HaModi’a, August 28; Maariv, HaMevaser, August 29, 2014
The Israel organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses recently held a conference at a Holon theater. Activists from the anti-missionary organization Yad L’Achim, having been alerted that a “missionary conference” with a “collective baptism ceremony” at the closing was planned, stationed themselves at the entrance, attempting to keep attendees away. Although many did change their plans, Yad L’Achim is greatly chagrined that the conference was not canceled, and shocked that “15 Jews were baptized in a clandestine ceremony in a private pool.” However, the theater’s CEO, when asked about the event, emphasized that “the conference was a closed event, where people from the group gave lectures. It is necessary to remember that we are a democratic country, with freedom of worship.”
Interfaith Dialogue
The Jerusalem Post, August 22, 2014
The Elijah Interfaith Institute, founded in 1996, recently held a seminar exploring the concept of prayer in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The seminar was attended by 20 people from different religions and all walks of life, from all over the world. Although the recent hostilities made it difficult to hold the seminar, EII and its attendees were determined to “share their humanity and different spiritual paths.”
Archaeology
Makor Rishon, August 28, 2014
A Persian-era clay pitcher (dated to 486 BCE) has been found. It is inscribed in Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian to the memory of “Darius, the [great] king,” and in Egyptian to “king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, Darius, who lives forever, year 36.” It is particularly important as the Persian orthography is alphabetical, the Akkadian and the Elamite are syllabary, and the Egyptian is hieroglyphic, thus enabling scholars to further understand these ancient writings.