2008 ICCJ International Conference Jerusalem, June 22-25

2008 ICCJ International Conference Jerusalem, June 22-25

The

International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) has announced that its 2008 Annual Conference

will be held June 22-25 in Jerusalem, under the theme "The Contribution of

Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue to Peace-Building in the Middle East." The local host of the

program will be the Centre for Interreligious Encounter with Israel, a program of the Interreligious

Coordinating Council in Israel. Topics to be dealt with will include Theology of the Land, the

influence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Christian-Jewish relations, and the role of

religion in the conflict, as well as religion as a source of reconciliation.

The

venue for the conference will be the Judaean Guest House, a new facility in southern Jerusalem, with

further housing at the Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies (Tantur). Workshops will be held

in the form of study outings to the sites of programs of interreligious education and

reconciliation. Areas visited will include the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim quarters of the Old

City, Bethlehem, Abu Ghosh, Ramle, and Neve Shalom/Wahat a Salam, the village jointly established by

Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, as well as Yad Vashem, the Islamic College at Baka,

the Open House at Ramle, and other institutions. Conference attendees will also have the opportunity

to meet with significant religious and political leaders.

A pre-conference study tour further examining some of the conference topics will be held June

17-21 on the theme "Listening to the Other"s Religio-Historical Narrative." There will

also be a Women"s Conference preceding the main conference. The ICCJ Annual General Meeting will be

held on June 26, and following that, a post-conference study tour (June 27-July 1). The theme of

this tour, which is designed to explore issues not highlighted at the main conference, will be

"Spirituality and the Holy Land of Israel."    F.S.

For further information, visit www.icci.org.il or e-mail iccj2008(at)icci.org.il