News/Blog

  Parliament of World Religions Special   Three Announcements from Elijah 1. Interreligious Reflections Available in Paperback and Epub at a Price Everyone Can Afford 2. Elijah Convenes World Religious Leaders to Share Testimonies of Friendship 3. Contribute to the Declaration of Friendship   1. Interreligious Reflections Available in Paperback and Epub at a Price […]

  Elijah Announces New Partnership Historical Declaration of Friendship Across Religions in the making     Wednesday September 26th 2018, at The Peace Palace in The Hague, the Carnegie Foundation and the Elijah Interfaith Institute announced a new partnership between the two organization. The partnership revolves around a Declaration of friendship across religions, as follow […]

Advancing the Work of “Make Friends”     Reader of our “Wisdom” newsletter have shared our joy and pride in the “Make Friends” initiative, that has had e reach of over 100 million people globally. We have shared messages from the campaign every month, in the Friendship Corner of our newsletter.     We are […]

In this issue: 1. Memory in the Religious Life – The Case of Tish’a Beav 2. Singing for Peace in Jerusalem 3. Friendship Corner with Ven. Chân Không =================================================== 1. Memory in the Religious Life – The Case of Tish’a Beav In several days, Elijah’s summer school on memory in the religious life will begin. Memory […]

In this issue: 1. Special Interview – The Vision of Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein’s Work 2. Swedish Religious Leaders Explore Making Friends 3. A Thousand Voices Join Together in the Small Hours of the Night for Peace and Understanding in Jerusalem 4. Friendship Corner with Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh =================================================== 1. Special Interview – The Vision […]

In this issue: 1. Elijah convenes 600 leaders and pilgrims for a first-ever in Moscow Synagogue 2. New Publication – Luther the Anti-Semite 3. Elijah mourns the Passing Away of Vitor Westhelle 4. Interfaith Koololam Event (Mass Singing) at the Tower of David 5. Friendship corner – HH The Dalai Lama =================================================== 1. Elijah convenes […]

In this issue: 1. Thinking of Friendship – the Next Stage 2. Atlanta Religious Leaders Reflect on Friendship 3. Friendship corner 4. Memory in the Religious Life – Elijah’s Summer School =================================================== 1. Thinking of Friendship – the Next Stage Elijah’s “Make Friends” campaign has reached millions of people. Elijah, in partnership with the Center […]

As Christians and Jews around the world prepare for their holy seasons of Easter and Pesach respectively, Elijah offers readers the following reflections on the themes of friendship and love, values that are elevated and celebrated in all our religious traditions on their holy days. =================================================== In this Newsletter: 1. Cardinal Koch and Rabbi Alon […]

In this Newsletter: 1. Forgiveness 2. Friendship Corner 3. Remembering Jonathan Z. Smith =================================================== Forgiveness Since its inception, Elijah has recognised that one of the most important values for interreligious understanding and dialogue, a value promoted by all religious traditions, is that of Forgiveness. The third meeting of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, […]

Jerusalem –  the Sacred Contested City Jerusalem has been in the news this month. President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital continues to reverberate in multiple ways in the international arena and in people’s mind. With this strong focus on Jerusalem, we would like to share with readers of Wisdom proceedings of a recent […]

Hermes Forum for the Interreligious Study of the Mystical and Spiritual Life Elijah’s Hermes Forum for the Interreligious Study of the Mystical and Spiritual Life held its fifth gathering in Jerusalem in October. Alon Goshen-Gottstein chaired a meeting of UNESCO chairs in the field of interreligious and intercultural relations, together with members of the Hermes […]

The Challenge All over the world notice is taken of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s posting of his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, thereby launching the reformation. This has been an occasion for considering Luther and his contribution to society. One of the voices that is often heard, and which […]

In This Newsletter: 1. Luther the Antisemite – A Contemporary Jewish Perspective 2. Review of Luther the Antisemite 3. Eugene Korn on Goshen-Gottstein on Thinkers of the Jewish-Christian Relation =================================================== The 31st of December marks the 500th anniversary of the Martin Luther posting his famous 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. […]

In this newsletter: 1. Prayer for the Rohingya People 2. Spreading the Word About Religious Genius A. World Congress of Jewish Studies explores Religious Genius B. Religious Genius as a Vehicle for Dialogue 3. Sharing Wisdom: Christian Sources on Friendship =================================================== 1. Prayer for the Rohingya People The Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, supported […]

May all beings be happy and secure Let none deceive another, nor despise any person whatsoever in any place. Let them not wish any harm to another out of anger or ill will Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, let them cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. From […]

In this newsletter 1. Elijah Interreligious Seminar and Summer School 2. Sharing Wisdom in Situations of Imbalance of Power 3. Prayer as Sharing Wisdom 4. Testimonies of Participants 5. Sharing Wisdom: Christian Understandings =================================================== 1.Elijah Interreligious Seminar and Summer School Elijah just completed its annual Jerusalem summer school program, twenty years after the first edition. The […]

In this newsletter 1. Judaism and world religions – Conference in Honor of Alon Goshen-Gottstein at 60 2. Continuing the Friendship Campaign 3. Elijah Summer school – A Taste of Friendship with Gandhi and Andrews 4. Sharing Wisdom: Friendship in Buddhist Sources =================================================== 1. Judaism and world religions – Conference in Honor of Alon Goshen-Gottstein […]

To Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem We don’t know each other. Actually, this is a sign of a bigger problem. I’ve had the privilege of working with the Grand Mufti of Egypt (click here to see our Make Friends campaign), with the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and with many prominent Muslim leaders. But […]

Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks makes a radical claim when he says that Jesus was never so Jewish as when he uttered his famous words from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” He said this at the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops in 2008 and he has repeated this message for […]

In this newsletter: 1. Religious Leaders Across the World Issue a Coordinated End of Ramadan/ Eid al-Fitr Message: Make Friends Across Religions 2. Training in Making Friends and Sharing Wisdom =============================== Religious Leaders Across the World Issue a Coordinated End of Ramadan/ Eid al-Fitr Message: Make Friends Across Religions 60 of the World’s Most Prominent […]

Elijah Releases the “Make Friends” appeal with the World’s Most Prominent Religious Leaders Many of our readers will have heard by now of the appeal, released June 14th, by some of the world’s most prominent religious leaders, calling for making friends across religions. Elijah, together with the Havas Lemz advertising agency and letsheal.org, takes great […]

This week, Israelis are celebrating 50 years of Reunification of Jerusalem. I wish that my heart was in it. I love Jerusalem. It is my home. The ceremony on Sunday night was spectacular. The ideal of one peaceful, unified city is my ideal, too. Every so often, I get glimpses of the dream. Isaiah described […]

In this issue: 1. Announcing another volume in our Interreligious Reflections series – The Future of Religious Leadership: World Religions in Conversation 2. Training the next generation of leaders – Elijah Interfaith Summer School and Leadership Training Institute 3. Religious leaders to discuss “Sharing Wisdom” in Jerusalem 4. Sharing Wisdom – The Leaders’ Prayer ======================================== […]

I once offended a city council-woman when she asked me if my children lived in the city. I said, “No. My girls live in the Tel Aviv area and my son lives in Pisgat Zeev.” “That is Jerusalem,” she responded indignantly. Of course, I knew that it was officially a suburb of Jerusalem. However, having […]

In this newsletter 1. Release of New Volume 2. Summer School and Leadership Institute 3. Sharing Wisdom ======================================== 1. Release of our latest volume Elijah is proud to announce the release of another book in our series of Interreligious Reflections, published by Lexington Press. This volume is entitled, Sharing Wisdom: Benefits and Boundaries of Interreli-gious Learning. […]

Children and adults in fancy-dress costumes, exchanging of gifts, lots of good food and wine, laughter and the retelling of a classic tale: we all love Purim. However, this year my mood was dampened a few days beforehand, when I was exposed to another side of the Purim story. I learnt that Purim has a […]

In this newsletter 1. Praying Together in Jerusalem 2. Praying Together in Cameroon 3. Praying Together in Tabgha 4. Sharing Wisdom ======================================== 1. Praying Together in Jerusalem 170 Christians, Muslims and Jews came to participate in the “Praying Together for Constructive Conflict in Jerusalem” at Tantur Ecumenical Institute last Sunday, to launch the week of […]

Monday may have been a watershed point in Israel’s history. This day may be remembered as the day when the Zionist movement, or the Israeli legislature, broke away with a tradition of over one hundred years of ensuring proper moral conduct in the process of building the land of Israel. Jews returned to Israel informed […]

In this Newsletter: 1. Leaders respond to Muslim Immigration Restrictions 2. Church of Latter Day Saints Hosts Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders 3. Elijah leaders participate in Parliament on Spirituality 4. Prayers for Aleppo 5. Scholar to Street ==================================== 1. Leaders respond to Muslim Immigration Restrictions Some members of the Elijah Board and Academy […]

In This Newsletter: 1. End of Year Appeal 2. Religious Geniuses as Sources of Contemporary Inspiration 3. Gregory the Theologian 4. Al-Ghazali 5. Sharing Wisdom ==================== 1. End of Year Appeal Dear Friends of Elijah, We are constantly seeking ways of making the exchange across religions more engaged, authentic and true to who we are […]

Christmas is in the air. And on the ground, in the form of trees that have been brought into public spaces, and once again serve as a focal point for a conflict between the faithful. The story this time comes from the Technion. The students’ union, out of respect for Arab Christian students, put up […]

Elijah’s Leaders Reach out to the Community And on this GIVING TUESDAY we ask for your support as we seek to move Elijah’s vision (Read on to learn more) From Scholar to Street In this newsletter: 1. Back from Salt Lake City 2. Sharing Religious Genius with the Sikh Community on Guru Nanak’s Birthday 3. Engaging Students in […]

A small sensation has been making the rounds on the internet. Some Turkish tourists prayed at the synagogue in Ben Gurion, using the talitot as prayer rugs. The tourists were made aware of their mistake and apologized, not before folding up the talitot in a respectful way. Reports on the internet have characterized this incident […]

In this newsletter: 1. Praying Together in Jerusalem 2. Your Input Sought 3. The President’s Interfaith Initiative 4. Sharing Wisdom =========================================== 1. Praying Together in Jerusalem On October 29th 2015, 80 people gathered at Jaffa Gate in the wall of the Old City of Jerusalem in order to pray side-by-side. The group included Christians of all denominations, Jews […]

During the summer, a group of students from Hamburg University joined the Elijah Interreligious Summer School and Training Institute in Jerusalem. They stayed at Ecce Homo in the Old City and each morning they left via the Damascus Gate to join us in the New City at the Swedish Theological Institute, where the program was […]

In this newsletter: 1. Interfaith, Building Community. Compassion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 2. Elijah Mourns the Passing Away of Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen 3. Judaism and Eastern Religions – Diplomatic Success and Theological Challenges 4. Sharing Wisdom =========================================== 1. Interfaith, Building Community. Compassion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Contributed by Rozemarijn Vanwijnsberghe, I.T.OUCH’ Elijah […]

Man of Moderation and Harmony I knew Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen for most of my life, certainly for more than 50 years. He lived up the road; he was part of the humanscape of my childhood. As a young adult I began appreciating his open-mindedness. He was there in times of crisis, typically crises created […]

In this newsletter: Elijah Summer School Examines Religious Leadership Close to 30 students from 11 different countries participated in the Elijah Summer School and Interfaith Leadership Seminar held this month in Jerusalem. The theme was “Religious Leadership: Ideals and Challenges” and the study program consisted of theoretical learning and case studies, as well as visits […]

Building a Spiritual Community Elijah’s Executive Director, Alon Goshen-Gottstein, and the Director of Educational Activities, Peta Jones Pellach, together with Elijah Academy member, Therese Andrevon Gottstein, have been working with a small group of peace-makers from Jerusalem, Israeli and Palestinian, for the past two years in order to explore the possibilities of creating a spiritual […]

I used to believe that Kalamazoo was a fictional place created by Dr Seuss but a few years ago, my Israeli husband was sent by the company he worked for in Australia to their headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Imagine the laughs it raised in our family when, a few months ago, I was invited via […]

October, 2015 As dusk fell over the Old City on Oct. 29, a group of 60 Christians and Jews and one Muslim gathered at the entrance of the Jaffa Gate for what they hope will become a monthly event of public prayer for peace. “We hope that by joining together in prayer to God and […]

In the late 1980s, I was teaching in the smaller of the two Jewish high schools in Sydney.  There was tremendous excitement when we were informed that Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel, would be visiting our city and had agreed to spend a morning with the senior students of the Jewish day schools. In […]

In this newsletter: 1. Muhammad Ali and his legacy – An Elijah perspective 2. Responses to Orlando – Elijah’s Leaders and Scholars Respond 3. Remembering Judith Hertz 1. Muhammad Ali and his legacy – An Elijah perspective The death of Muhammad Ali, the funerary rites and the interfaith service held in his memory drew much […]

Background – UNESCO on Jerusalem UNESCO is not held in high regard in Israel. There are good reasons for that. The United Nation’s agency that is in charge of education and culture and that has inscribed a culture of peace as one of its primary goals and narratives is highly politicized. Its high politicization renders […]

Yesterday, dozens of people of all ages, all backgrounds and faiths gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate a 65th birthday. However, as all those offering blessings on the occasion said, this was not a time for retirement. The passing of 65 years of the Swedish Theological Institute’s activities in the Holy City has laid the groundwork […]

We are happy to announce a new publication by Alon Goshen-Gottstein of The Jewish Encounter with Hinduism – Wisdom, Spirituality, Identity. The recent publication by Palgrave Macmillan makes available the first full length monograph devoted to Jewish-Hindu relations. Hinduism has become a vital “other” for Judaism over the past decades. A new relationship, that is […]

Rabbi Nahman of Breslov taught that it is best to pray with the simplicity of a child; talking to God as if He were your best friend. But what about praying alongside your neighbors as if they were your friends, with the ease of children on the playground? These ideas of simplicity and kinship in […]

Elijah’s Contribution to Peace in Jerusalem October 2015 was a very difficult month in Jerusalem, with the outbreak of the latest round of violence in the holy city. However, there was one bright aspect for interfaith relations – the launch of the movement, “Praying Together in Jerusalem.” The Elijah Interfaith Institute, together with Tantur Ecumenical […]

On Friday night at the Pesach seder, Jews around the world will celebrate our freedom. We will recall the miracle of our liberation from slavery in ancient times and envision an era of ultimate freedom for all of humanity. As part of our ceremony, we will drink four cups of wine which, among other things, […]

It’s all about the battle of good and evil. Arguably, all Jewish festivals touch upon this theme in one way or another. Whether they celebrate victory over enemies or the battle against sin and the quest for divine light and love, the battle against evil runs is fundamental to all Jewish celebration. There is more […]

Not all the news from Jerusalem is about hatred violence. There is also love and mercy. A few days ago, Bishop William Shomali, auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, implored us to share the good news about Jerusalem. I want to do just that. Last week, Christians, Muslims and Jews gathered in Jerusalem […]

Memory and Hope: Forgiveness, Healing, and Interfaith Relations We are proud to announce that the fourth volume of the Interreligious Reflections series, “Memory and Hope: Forgiveness, Healing, and Interfaith Relations,” published by Lexington Press is now available. If you would like to purchase your copy at a special discounted price, please click on the image […]

In honour of International Women’s Day, we are posting this reflection. “In spite of precious ancient religious resources that may be cited to support gender equality in the religious sphere and noteworthy female leaders as examples, the .. tradition is culturally patriarchal and this has meant the historical exclusion of women from leadership and equal […]

We are proud to announce that the third volume of the Interreligious Reflections series, “Friendship Across Religions: Theological Perspectives on Interreligious Friendship,” published by Lexington Press is now available. If you would like to purchase your copy, please click on the offer below: In March, 2012, members of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders […]

A dead Pope, made a Saint since his passing away, and his secret love life is a hot item in the news. Oddly enough, it is headline news in Israel as well, featured in all major media outlets. The recent historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, a milestone […]

“Lord of the Flies” was on television last week and for the first time since I first read the disturbing novel nearly 50 years ago, I thought that it might be realistic. William Golding describes children, left without adult supervision, turning into savages, who torment and terrorise each other and kill without remorse. Most of […]

Sometimes synchronicity sets us thinking. Consider the lessons to be learned from two discourses that came my way a few days ago. Pinto Goes to Jail, Authentic Judaism is Vindicated An old classmate of mine, Dov Halbertal, publishes an op-ed column in haredi and other media. Following the rejection of Rabbi Pinto’s appeal by the […]

Most of the western world has just celebrated New Years Day – but why now? Why did we choose January 1st as the beginning of the year? It is believed that the Roman emperor Julius Caesar proposed the idea of having January 1 as the first day of the year in 46 BCE. The month […]

On December 29th, 1890 more than 200 men, women and children of the Lakota people, one of the indigenous populations of North America, were massacred by the US Cavalry, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. At the time, the slaughter was celebrated by much of the American public as an important step in eliminating […]

As a Jewish child in Australia, in addition to enjoying the summer holiday atmosphere, seeing the decorations and hearing the carols in the shopping malls, I was taught three things about Christmas: We could be cynical. The date was originally a pagan winter festival and Santa Claus had no real religious significance. It is unlikely […]

Churches in Israel will be full tonight, Christmas Eve. And they will be full not only of the faithful but of visitors, Jewish Israeli visitors who throng by the thousands to attend Christmas eve celebrations in churches throughout Israel. The phenomenon has been building up for more than a decade. Christmas Eve is when thousands […]

Fifty years ago the Catholic Church made one of the most remarkable changes in the history of human religious history. For close to two millennia, it had taught that the Church replaced Israel and that Judaism was, in fact, no longer a valid religious path. Jews were accused of killing god, deicide, and a bitter […]

Being back in Australia for Chanukah has been a strange experience. Imagine that the earliest time for candle-lighting is nearly 9:00pm and that at least one night of Chanukah might involve coming home from the beach to light candles. Chanukah as a winter holiday gives particular meaning to lighting candles. Their light makes the long […]

I paid a condolence visit yesterday to a friend whose father passed away a couple of weeks ago. It is most unusual, as you will know, in this part of the world for funerals not to occur immediately after death but my friend’s father passed away in the United States and  arrangements had to be […]

On a cool evening towards sunset, a small group of us met outside the Jaffa Gate and hoped that others would join us. It was the yahrzeit of Shlomo Carlebach, but that was incidental to why we were there. We had come to pray — not at the Kotel, and not in another designated holy place, but […]

I have just returned from a 5-day event, The Parliament of the World’s Religions meeting in Salt Lake City. The 10,000 participants reflected the diversity of religions practiced around the globe, from tribal religions and paganism to the Abrahamic faiths and Eastern religions. The atmosphere was festive, the tone respectful and the scene colourful. I […]

Sukkot is our most universal festival. Zachariah speaks of all nations coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Sukkot, which in turn inspires a large Christian gathering on this festival. The Rabbis consider the seventy oxen sacrificed during Sukkot to be an offering for the seventy nations of the world. After the pardon that […]

Rosh Hashana is the one time a year that our prayers go universal. All year long we think of Israel, the people, their destiny, faithfulness and wellbeing. On Rosh Hashana God is at the center, as we think of His sovereignty and kingdom. The focus on God as king as the central theme of Rosh […]

It is eighty years since Israel’s (then Palestine’s) first Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, passed away. Tuesday, the third of Elul, will mark this eightieth anniversary. Rav Kook’s name has figured a lot in the news this past week. With the announcement of the establishment of independent conversion courts by leading rabbis of the […]

I have always believed and upheld that the world’s religions provide humanity with ethical standards, with guidelines for successful interpersonal relationships, with awareness of the spiritual dimension that gives rise to feelings of awe at the marvels of creation, with a sense of purpose of existence and with a connection to the unity of all […]

Talmudic Lessons from Past Destructions Destruction is in many ways the theme of the day. Most of our public discourse is implicitly related to the theme of destruction – preventing Israel’s destruction, given Iranian rhetoric and the recent Vienna accords. Our sensitivity to destruction stems from a history dotted with one traumatic destruction after another. […]

Once again, the Jewish season of the Three Weeks, a time of semi-mourning, will overlap with the Muslim month of Ramadan, so both communities find themselves in periods of intense self-reflection. In both communities, we dedicate this time to examining our behaviours in order to improve them. This is a subdued time but a time […]

It was surreal – the feeling I had the first time I went to Ecce Homo, on Via Dolorosa, in the Old City of Jerusalem. “Am I really walking these ancient streets in this holy city, as part of my work-day?” None of that excitement has waned. Each time I go there, entering through the […]

The Launch of Religious Jewish Terrorism Once again, a Church is vandalized by Jewish extremists. This time, however, the religious motive is more overt. Instead of “price tag”, the graffiti quotes a passage from the Hebrew prayer, appealing to the removal of idolatry. The attack on Tabgha is therefore not simply one more attack. It […]

ByARIEL HENDELMAN August 21, 2014 The Elijah Interfaith Institute has brought together Christians, Muslims and Jews to explore the power of supplication in the holy city. How do you pray? It’s an intensely personal question, one that gets much traction in Jerusalem – a city of immense holiness to Christians, Muslims and Jews. One organization […]

The Elijah Interfaith Institute had the honor of co-sponsoring the First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace with Hommes de Parole , held at Egmont’s Palace in Brussels, January 3-5, 2005. One hundred Imams and Rabbis, representing their communities all over the earth, united to act together and state to the world, that peace and […]

Every two years, since 2003, the stellar gathering of world religious leaders, that make up the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, come together in person in a major religious site or important city. They have come together for the fourth time, this time in Haifa and Galillee, where the vision of the Elijah Institute […]

Every two years, since 2003, the stellar gathering of world religious leaders, that make up the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, come together in person in a major religious site or important city. They have come together for the fourth time, this time in Haifa and Galillee, where the vision of the Elijah Institute […]

Every two years, since 2003, the stellar gathering of world religious leaders, that make up the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, come together in person in a major religious site or important city. They have come together for the fourth time, this time in Haifa and Galillee, where the vision of the Elijah Institute […]

Every two years, since 2003, the stellar gathering of world religious leaders, that make up the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, come together in person in a major religious site or important city. They have come together for the fourth time, this time in Haifa and Galillee, where the vision of the Elijah Institute […]

Every two years, since 2003, the stellar gathering of world religious leaders, that make up the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders, come together in person in a major religious site or important city. They have come together for the fourth time, this time in Haifa and Galillee, where the vision of the Elijah Institute […]