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September 2007
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ICCJ Conference
At the end of four days of intense activities, lectures by international experts, panels, workshops and exchange, a group of young Jews, Christians and Muslims declared that they were forming the Young Abrahamic Leadership Council of Australasia (YALCA). The group was born out of friendships and connections made at the 2007 International Council of Christians and Jews Conference in Sydney. The presence of the youth, forty in toto, was made possible through scholarships granted by the New Zealand Council of Christians and Jews, and the Australian Council, who raised considerable sums to fly up the youth from New Zealand and Victoria. Their ages averaged from the late teens to a few in their early thirties and they hailed from Wellington, Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne. The Australian and New Zealand Councils were joint sponsors of the conference, which was held at the Eric Caspary Centre, Shalom College from 8-11th, July 2007. Sponsors included the Federal Government, NSW Community Relations, The Pratt foundation, the Gandel Trust, the Sisters of Sion, Brentcorp Trust, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, the Anglican Archdiocese and the Inter-religious Coordinating Council of Israel.
As such, the Sydney ICCJ conference is a truly historical event, for this is the first time the ICCJ, founded in London 1942 in the wake of anti-Semitism and the destruction of Jewry in World War II, has been held in Australia. The ICCJ has a desire to become more inclusive and appreciative of the other Abrahamic faith, Islam. Its workshop on Islamaphobia was addressed by Rabbi Brian Fox, Rehanna Ali from New Zealand and Golam Dastagir, from Bangladesh who made the case for gaining a deeper understanding of Islam and overcoming misconceptions and the tendency to indict all of Islam because of the small segment that engages in terrorism.
The theme, Healing a Fractured Earth: Faiths working together attracted 165 participants and speakers from all round the world including delegates from North America, Poland, South America, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Bangladesh and Wellington, New Zealand.
In preparation for the International Conference of Christians and Jews President Henry Mendelson had taken more than two years of intense preparation, in raising funds, inviting speakers, organising programme details and such things as a grand Gala dinner in conclusion, at a glorious waterside location and an opening event at which the Governor Marie Bashir spoke: the Jewish Choral society performed a dazzling repertoire of songs from all round the world, including the Queensland version of Waltzing Matilda, our quintessential Australian song, and an aboriginal smoking ceremony and dancing. The Governor declared that dialogue and healing are critical in today's world, and that the ICCJ is charged with carrying on this task. The second evening was devoted to aboriginal culture and painting, which participants very much appreciated. Each morning session began with a one minute universal prayer and speakers were encouraged to recognise our indigenous people, the Gadigal people on whose land we stood. This acknowledgement itself is an act of repentance for the ills that the colonists have done to the original peoples of this land.
Rabbi Apples' keynote address (see Australian CCJ website) www.ccjaistralia.orgon respecting the other and the ethic of difference opened the Monday's proceedings. Over three days, panels and workshops addressed the healing needed for our environment, in the Australian scene, in the Middle East, between our Abrahamic religions and in issues of Christian theology. Cardinal Cassidy spoke at the closing gala dinner, mentioning some recent problems in Vatican declarations that need to be addressed in an ongoing dialogue.
The ICCJ conference was preceded by an ICCJ Women's conference attended by 22 women. Over the first day an aboriginal woman, Elsie Heiss led the group in looking at our stories through the healing elements of Earth, Water and Fire. They began the first day with an aboriginal women's healing ceremony using these elements of pure water, fire and earth, and then shared for the rest of the day. The Shabbat was celebrated with a special meal and prayers and Saturday morning was left free for people to rest or attend the synagogue at Maroubra, a brisk walk of about twenty minutes from Shalom College. At lunch Judith Narrowe gave an excellent lecture. www.ccjaustralia.org
In the afternoon Josie Lacey moderated a session on women in leadership, where people shared their experiences. On Saturday evening they went to see the excellent Australian film Romulus My Father, a true story, which related the story of a migrant family seen through the eyes of a young boy, who grew up to become very successful, managing to acquire an excellent education, despite the difficulties.
On Sunday morning The Book of Ruth was studied together with Deborah Weissman and Sr Mary Reaburn, nds. The meeting ended just after lunch with a summing up session of what women contribute to healing and what they wished to say to the ICCJ. One such recommendation was to hold the Women's Conference annually and to make it better known and advertised, as this predisposes the participants to better take part in the main ICCJ conference. Our one regret was the non attendance of Muslim women participants.
Summary by Sr. Marianne Dacy NDS