(Originally written 1999 - updated April 2009)

The Background

The quest for understanding among different religions is a relatively recent phenomenon. In each age there have been a number of men and women who have understood the necessity for respecting and learning from those of other faiths. More typical, however, have been the attitudes of the Crusaders to Jews and Moslems; of Christian missionaries in India horrified by the outward trappings of Hinduism or animism; of Brahmins who feared that even to be in the shadow of someone of another faith or caste was pollution; of Moslems urging "Jihad" against unbelievers; or of the anger of Orthodox Jews confronted by the phenomenon of marriage between Jew and non-Jew. Religious belief has often seemed more of a dividing force in the history of mankind than a unifying one.

The international interfaith movement, which has existed for about one hundred years, is a reaction to the feeling that religion always bears within it the seeds of discord. It owes its existence to the realization among many religious leaders that all major religions have within them certain positive basic teachings about the nature of man and his relations to God and that it is more appropriate to find these parallels than to lay sole claim to understanding the ultimate truth. As the 20th century wore on an increasing number of people began to agree with Swami Vivekananda, a pioneer of the interfaith movement, who declared in 1893: "The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist become Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of others and yet preserve its individuality and grow according to its own law of growth ... holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character."

The search for common ground among the religions of the world has implications not only for individuals but for society as a whole, especially in regions where conflict is endemic. As Professor Hizkias Assefa, when Director of the Nairobi Peace Initiative, declared: "there are sympathetic concepts and values across many faiths and religions that can reinforce each others struggle in the quest for peace for our troubled world."

However the progress of this movement for understanding and tolerance has received a severe setback in the first decade of the twenty first century. The destruction of the "twin towers" in New York by Moslem extremists marked the beginning of a period when politics and religion became more closely linked globally than they had been for many hundreds of years. Resentment among the disadvantaged, many of whom were Moslems, at the dominance of the United States and Europe, combined with revival of fundamentalist religious belief among both Moslems and Christians to create a situation in which many  from both communities regarded "the other" as an enemy. The seemingly insoluble Israeli/Palestinian conflict, which pits Jew against Moslem, together with American and British involvement in conflict in mainly Moslem countries - Iraq and Afghanistan - still further clouds the scene.

These negative developments impinged directly on the Middle East which is at the center of the storm. Even before this the history of the region, over the last hundred years at least, been notable for a growth of tolerance and understanding between faiths. In Israel the intense attachment of the three monotheistic religions to a region which they have all ruled at different periods and where members of their faith still live, makes the country a difficult one for those who believe in the value of interfaith activity.

The emergence globally of two distinct trends among religious leaders and their followers has been the focal point for discussion at interfaith gatherings such as the World Assemblies, held every four years, of the international NGO "Religions for Peace" (formerly know as the "World Conference for Religion and Peace").

One of these trends can be broadly described by the use of the word "interfaith", meaning the recognition of the validity of all major religious traditions and of the need for them to respect one another and work together. The positive aspects of this approach are a sincere effort to learn about and recognize the sincerity of the beliefs of the other. This is accompanied by a wish to channel the more tolerant aspects of belief into the creation of peace and harmony among peoples and nations.  As has already been said, this trend gained ground during the last century.

The second trend, "fundamentalism," reflects a desire to return to the basic beliefs of each religions founders and to a literal interpretation of its holy books. Such a return to fundamental beliefs can lead to a sense of great confidence among believers who feel that they have found refuge in the security of faith.

Both of these approaches have their weaknesses. An interfaith outlook can easily lead to a certain vague idealism. This both dilutes the essence of each religious system and tends to reflect generalized, somewhat vapid goodwill which is ultimately ineffective and unconvincing. In contrast, fundamentalism, which is clearly defined, often embodies a strong element of faith alongside intolerance. The security felt by believers is often manifested in a hostile attitude towards those with different belief systems. This can be clearly seen in developments since September 11th 2002 which, as already pointed out, caused a distinct change of attitude among many believers from all three monotheistic faiths, making things still more difficult for those seeking to promote tolerance and understanding.

Interfaith within Israel - a complex situation

Looking at the question of interfaith relations in Israel is complicated by the necessity to consider not only the day to day relations between different faiths in the country itself but to take a wider perspective. For Christians, Jews and Moslems, Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is a Holy City and the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is sacred. For the Jews it is their homeland and central to their faith; for Christians it is a place of pilgrimage where Jesus lived and died; for Moslems, as a recently commissioned UNESCO report states, "the paramount importance of Jerusalem as third in holiness (after Mecca and Medina) is never the least in doubt."

For members of all three faiths, Israel has a special significance. Each has its shrines and religious sites to which it is attached and over which there is a constant struggle to maintain hegemony and control. This makes the way in which the three faiths relate to one another in Israel of more than purely regional significance. It also gives special importance to their relationship with their co-religionists outside Israel and to the spiritual, intellectual and theological movements in the wider religious communities to which they belong.

In Israel, amongst practitioners of all religions, one finds both advocates of interfaith harmony and those whose interpretation of faith consists of literal obedience to scripture. The latter group is often hostile to beliefs different from their own: this, in many cases, stems from ignorance about them but more often from fervent belief which readily be manipulated by religious leaders who have little time for tolerance.

Those in Israel who believe in interfaith understanding obtain intellectual support from representatives of interfaith activity on the world stage such as "Religions for Peace", by organisations devoted to fostering understanding among faiths, like the Council for Christians and Jews, and those within established religions who believe in interfaith understanding.  They have over the years been able to obtain limited financial support from international foundations.

Those who are drawn to the fundamentalist approach are encouraged by outside forces such as Pentecostal protestants from the USA, who are unswerving in their support for Israel and their indifference to Moslem beliefs, or Moslem teachers from the great Islamic schools of the Middle East, some of whom provide theological support for the concept of "Jihad".

In this way, as in so many others, Israel is a microcosm of the world at large, where tolerance confronts fanaticism and the battle between them is fought over a wealth of issues in a variety of ways.  Naturally therefore Interfaith relations in Israel have been adversely affected by developments world wide since 2002.

The philosopher Martin Buber when he immigrated to Israel in 1938 began to teach a brand of Jewish humanism. This philosophy called for mutual recognition among faiths, based on the realization that there were certain basic concepts common to Judaism, Islam, Christianity and indeed to all the great religions. Perhaps not surprisingly Buber encountered considerable hostility in Orthodox Jewish circles, and never obtained in Israel  the high level of appreciation and recognition that he had enjoyed in pre-World War II Europe.

However, Buber did manage to surround himself with a group of people who shared his Weltanschauung - Christians, Jews, and Moslems. With their help he established the Israel Interfaith Association, whose objective was the creation of better relations between members of the three faiths in Israel. Over the last 40 or so years, the Association has conducted a wide variety of seminars and conferences, has published books and pamphlets, and has been active in international bodies devoted to creating world-wide understanding among representatives of different religions.

However, Buber's influence, and that of his followers, has had only limited impact in the country. There are several reasons for this. One is that the political climate in Israel has not been helpful. Many Israelis and their families suffered torment at the hands of Christians in Europe during the Holocaust. Others, less emotively but also painfully, lost their money and property when they came to Israel in the 1950s from various Middle Eastern countries. The feelings of hostility to Islam among Israelis was exacerbated by the fact that Israel's wars were fought against its neighbouring states whose citizens were overwhelmingly Moslem, even though their governments were secular in nature.  Events in the last decade have done nothing to ameliorate such hostility.

Moreover, Israel has always been governed by basically secular administrations, whether socialists relatively indifferent to religion of any stripe, or nationalists to whom the Jewish religion was essentially an instrument of state-building, a means of creating a national identity. Both groups tended to perceive Christians and Moslems in Israel, virtually all of whom are Arabs, as being potentially politically unreliable. While the authorities have been punctilious in their attitude to religious institutions and have protected Christian and Moslem holy places in conformity with the status quo first established under the Ottomans in the late 19th century, they have showed little interest in promoting better understanding of these minorities among the Jewish majority.

Most of the ten to fifteen (opinions differ on the precise figure)  per cent of the Jewish  population who are strictly Orthodox  or national religious in their orientation tend to see in other religions hostile entities which have to be combated at all levels. Many of them actively oppose any efforts to create a dialogue with those of other faiths. In this community leaders and their congregations have been either indifferent, or actively opposed, to interfaith understanding.

The great majority of Jews, whether Orthodox, moderate in their religious beliefs or secular, have minimal knowledge about the basic beliefs of other faiths. Most young Jews in Israel have never met a Christian or a Moslem socially. .

Nor have Moslem attitudes been more positive. In 1948, the Arab countries who invaded Israel were defeated in the ensuing war, and the Arabs who did not become refugees found themselves a minority within the Jewish state. They have learned Hebrew and adapted to life in a Jewish dominated society to a remarkable extent, but their leaders have either, as in the case of the communists, been actively hostile to all religions, or, as in the case of Islamic clerics, tended to see in Judaism the religion of their oppressors who, they perceive, have turned them into second-class citizens.

Moslems in general have shown little interest in interfaith activity, and their knowledge of the belief systems and attitudes of their neighbours is, if anything, even less than that of Christians and Jews. There have been notable individuals who took part in interfaith activities, but they have been few in number and their efforts have recently been over-shadowed by identification in the minds of many Jews in Israel between Islam and violence promoted by Hisbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, the militant Moslem movements which spearhead opposition to the peace process.

The Arab Christians living in Israel (less than three percent of the population), who are largely either of the Greek Orthodox or the Greek Catholic faiths, have sometimes been hesitant about interfaith initiatives. They have seen involvement as potentially dangerous to their already weak position vis-à-vis the Moslems. Hence, they have tended to steer clear of anything which would lead Moslem Arabs to think of them as engaging in a positive dialogue with representatives of Judaism.

In the last few years, opposition to some aspects of Israel's governmental policy has tended to draw Christians and Moslems together. Yet it is questionable to what extent their basic attitudes to one another have changed. The Christians are fearful of the Moslems, particularly of Moslem fundamentalism, and Moslems tend to regard Christians as not completely reliable, and in some way too close to the West.

Christians, Jews and Moslems in Israel tend to remain within their own cultures and societies, and therefore have little knowledge of one another's beliefs. This is reflected in curricula in both the Jewish and Arab school systems where references to other faiths are minimal.  It is fair to say that the Israeli Ministry of Education has not put much effort into revising curricula to take account of informing young people about faith's other than their own.

Positive Contributions to Interfaith Activity

Encouragement of interfaith work has, however, come from several different directions. Leading the way have been representatives of the Catholic and Protestant Christian churches from outside Israel who live in the Holy Land for religious reasons helping to look after the Christian holy places, taking on a variety of tasks relating to pilgrimage, and conducting educational and social work, largely among the Arab population.

The Catholics among them are members of a Church which in the past 50 years has moved away from its previous position of strenuous antagonism towards other Christian denominations, to the Jewish community and to other faiths. In 1962, the Church, under the guidance of Pope John XXIII, removed from the liturgy material tainted with antisemitism and initiated a new relationship between Judaism and Christianity. At about the same time, the Catholic Church's relations with the Anglican and Lutheran Churches markedly improved and dialogue was established between the eastern communities the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian, the Coptic church of Egypt and others.

The decision to establish an ecumenical institute at Tantur near Bethlehem, taken in 1964, served as a symbol of the Catholic Church"s desire to extend its new policy of rapprochement to the Holy Land. Tantur offers  courses for Christian clergy wishing to familiarize themselves with the Land of the Bible. Its courses include material designed to teach understanding of Judaism and Islam and its faculty includes Christians, Jews and Moslems. Equally important, it serves as a meeting place for Israelis and Palestinians who wish to share their experience or debate their differences in a creative spirit.  Tantur offers a safe and secure atmosphere for dialogue.

A prominent  Catholic  religious, the late  Father Bruno Hussar, ventured into new territory when, in the 1980s, he helped to establish the rural settlement of Neve Shalom near Jerusalem, where Arab and Jewish families live together and which has an interfaith centre for meditation.

Other Christian churches whose leadership comes from Europe and North America have also been anxious to improve interfaith dialogue in Israel. The Scottish Presbyterian Church, the Swedish Protestant churches, the Dutch Reform Church, and others, have been active in promoting activities designed to encourage interfaith understanding.

Perhaps the most successful initiatives have been in the rural areas of the Galilee, populated by Christians, Moslems and Jews. Among them is that of Elias Jabbour whose "House of Hope" in the small town of Shfaram near Haifa offers activities designed to engage local communities Christian, Moslem and Jewish in communication and dialogue. Father Elias Chacour, a radical and energetic Greek Catholic priest in the village of Ibellin in western Galilee, has founded a successful secondary school where students are both Christian and Moslem and several faculty members are Jews. .

Other positive forces from an interfaith point of view include the Conservative and Reform streams in Judaism, both of which continue to have major difficulties in establishing themselves in the country in the face of Orthodox opposition, are more open to dialogue with other faiths. Individual Orthodox rabbis have also been active, among them Rabbi David Rosen, who was chief rabbi of Ireland and now occupies a unique position in interfaith dialogue in his role as international director for religious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, co-President of "Religions for Peace", and an active participant in many initiatives world wide  devoted to religious understanding.. He played a large part in negotiations with the Vatican which led to the latter's recognition of Israel in 1993 and in the establishment of a bi-lateral commission for dialogue between the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy see which is a very significant development permitting Jews and Catholics to regularly review their relationship and respond to the challenges posed to mutual understanding.

It is also worth noting that the Israeli Foreign Ministry has been largely supportive of interfaith activity.  This can be taken as an indication of mainstream Israeli foreign policy which seeks to promote interfaith understanding with an eye to improving relations with the wider world and between communities within Israel itself(though not necessarily to devote resources to these concerns). 

The Israel Interfaith Association's efforts, already referred to, were augmented by the establishment of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI) in 1991. It seeks to promote interfaith understanding and cultural harmony in Israel and functions as a clearing house for information on interfaith activity in Israel and abroad. It also promotes activities designed to bring together those who are seeking a better understanding of one another's beliefs. Recently the ICCI has placed emphasis on work with young people and with women. 

Among the 60 or so organizations which participate in the ICCI, some, such as the Ecumenical Theological Fraternity, an academically-oriented group of theologians and clergy, are mainly concerned with Christian-Jewish dialogue, while others, like the Seminar Centre for Pluralism at Kibbutz Malkiya, are engaged in promoting community-based relations. Some, like the Sisters of Sion, a Catholic order founded in the middle of the 19th century to promote Christian-Jewish understanding, are long-term workers in the interfaith field, while others have just recently developed. It is noticeable, however, that few of the organizations listed as members of ICCI are specifically Moslem.

Particularly active has been the "Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations" which has sought involved the broader Jewish society in Israel with local Christian communities.  Its activities are designed to overcome ignorance and negative stereotypes and promote understanding between Jews and indigenous Arab Christians. Though it has only been  in existence since 2004 nearly 4000 people were involved in its activities in 2008.

Another organisation devoted to interfaith concerns "the Interfaith Encounter Association"  has worked not only within Israel but,has tried hard to widen the scope of interfaith activity so as to include communities in Palestine.The Association has organized a wide variety of encounters involving, according to its annual report, over four thousand people. It has put particular emphasis on the formation of groups of women from different religious groups.

While most of the interfaith dialogue in Israel during the past 60 years has been devoted to creating better relations between the Christian Church and the Jews, through clarification of theological misunderstandings between them, there is now a wish among all concerned with interfaith activities in Israel to widen the dialogue to include more local Christian communities, Moslems and  representatives of the Jewish Orthodox community.  But progress on this front is slow.

A major international conference held in Jerusalem in the nineties, was a positive manifestation of the value of inter-religious dialogue. Some 600 Christian and Jewish leaders met to discuss the challenges posed to religion by science and new social developments. Prominent cardinals, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (a Christian Arab), the Archbishop of Canterbury, bishops from Africa and Asia, the chief rabbis of France and of South Africa, and rabbis and academics from Israel itself, mingled with scientists and sociologists in a way which would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. There was some opposition to the conference in Orthodox Jewish circles but, in general, the initiative was successful. But its long term impact was limited..

The same can be said of a dramatic meeting held in 2002 which symbolized the recognition of religious leaders from the region and beyond that they needed to play a part in the resolution of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Under the auspices of the Archbishop of Canterbury religious leaders including the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Grand Sheik of Al Azar in Egypt, prominent Moslem Sheiks from the West Bank, and the heads of various Christian denominations from Jerusalem and elsewhere,  met in Alexandria and signed the "Alexandria Declaration" which urged all parties in the conflict to restrain from violence and enjoined followers of all three religions to practice tolerance and understanding in an effort to promote peace. It is, however, not easy to trace any direct result arising from the Declaration - subsequent efforts to hold follow-up meetings and directly influence policy did not have any apparent impact. In general religious leadership has not played a significant role in promoting peace at least so far as is apparent from the media - though of course there is always the possibility that behind the scenes influence has been exerted.

More recently significant dialogue took place under the auspices of the World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace which at a conference held in Spain in 2006 established a Committee for the Protection of the Holy Places on which serve, among others, Rabbi Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa and the Imam Imad al Falouji from Gaza. The Congress has also initiated educational programs designed to inform youth about the major teachings of the three Abrahamic faiths and their relevance to tolerance.

Conclusion

Today, as we have seen, large groups are virtually outside interfaith dialogue - the vast majority of Moslem adherents (both leaders and congregations) as well as most Orthodox Jewish rabbis and communities. Attitudes to interfaith work among locally based Christians vary widely but there are signs that their leadership is becoming more aware of interfaith concerns and more Christians are taking part in interfaith activity. However fully represented in such activities are only the "Western" Christians who derive their strength from their contacts outside Israel, the liberal wing of Jewish opinion, and certain individual religious leaders whose views are broader than those of the majority of their colleagues.

Those who look to interfaith dialogue to transform relations between communities in Israel or to promote lasting peace in the region are probably unrealistic. Religion in Israel and in the Middle East generally is a greater cause of dissonance than harmony. But this is not to say that interfaith efforts are a waste of time. The slow and painful process towards mutual recognition and understanding which has already healed some of the rifts between Jews and Christians, and between various Christian churches, will continue in Israel despite setbacks and the difficult political atmosphere. The rise of fundamentalism, which strengthens hatred and suspicion of others, lends new urgency to these efforts.

Interfaith activity in Israel is, as has been made clear, very much a minority activity. Relatively few Israelis of whatever faith are directly involved and the activities of the various organizations which have been mentioned above take place largely in Jerusalem and the Galilee for the obvious reason that it in these areas that the majority of the Moslem and Christian communities are to be found. To change this state of affairs would require the Israeli Government to take a more positive attitude to interfaith understanding and, more important perhaps, the investment of funds by the various religious organizations involved or by international donors. Lack of funding severely limits the efforts of all interfaith organizations in the country. and prevents the establishment of interfaith centers and the launching of joint initiatives sponsored by representatives of the three religions in the fields of education and community relations which could actively help promote understanding.among a larger cross section of the population.

The hope has to be that religion can, in the long run, be a means of promoting understanding and peace and not of strengthening prejudice and hatred. As the former Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michael Sabbah,  has said: "As three communities of the Abrahamic faith, Christians, Moslems and Jews, we witness among some adherents the exploitation and manipulation of religion with a view to fostering fanaticism in the name of God and at the expense of the human person and the communities. One replaces the God of holiness, truth and all-embracing love with crude idols shaped by what is evil in ourselves. All of us have to discover the holiness, the transcendence of God and his love, which is our authentic guide towards mutual acceptance and respect in our daily life, and in renewing the face of our land and Jerusalem our city, the mother and the spiritual homeland of all believers."