Gemeinsam gegen Antisemitismus—Die Konferenz von Seelisberg (1947) revisited. Die Entstehung des institutionellen jüdisch-christlichen Dialogs in der Schweiz und in Kontinentaleuropa by Jehoschua Ahrens (review)
2023; The Catholic University of America Press; Volume: 109; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/cat.2023.a914172
ISSN1534-0708
ResumoReviewed by: Gemeinsam gegen Antisemitismus—Die Konferenz von Seelisberg (1947) revisited. Die Entstehung des institutionellen jüdisch-christlichen Dialogs in der Schweiz und in Kontinentaleuropa by Jehoschua Ahrens Victoria Barnett Gemeinsam gegen Antisemitismus—Die Konferenz von Seelisberg (1947) revisited. Die Entstehung des institutionellen jüdisch-christlichen Dialogs in der Schweiz und in Kontinentaleuropa. By Jehoschua Ahrens. (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2020. Pp. iii, 280. €49.90. ISBN: 978-3-643-14609-0). The 1947 conference in Seelisberg, Switzerland, has long been overshadowed by the Second Vatican Council and Nostra aetate (the Vatican II document on interreligious relations that repudiated several long-standing anti-Jewish claims), the emergence of post-Holocaust theological and biblical scholarship, and the growth of Jewish-Christian dialogue. None of these developments, however, would have been possible without the Seelisberg meeting, which was organized by British and U.S. interfaith leaders to address the alarming resurgence of antisemitism in postwar Europe. Sixty-five participants from Europe and North America attended—an international mix of Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians. Most were not official representatives of their communities, but clergy, laypeople, and theologians interested in reconciliation. The conference produced a detailed working paper and recommendations for interfaith dialogue, but Seelisberg is best known for its brief report on antisemitism. It began with a blunt acknowledgment by the Christian delegates of the historical and theological Christian underpinnings of this hatred and concluded with the "Ten Points of Seelisberg," which refuted the most common Christian anti-Jewish tropes. The "Ten Points" is still regarded as the theological foundation for Jewish-Christian dialogue. Jehoschua Ahrens's excellent book is the first comprehensive study of the Seelisberg meeting and its legacy. An Orthodox European rabbi who is presently director for Central Europe at the Orthodox Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC), Ahrens gives a rich and often moving account of the road to Seelisberg. His book begins with an examination of different Jewish-Christian encounters in the early twentieth century, the challenges to this work after the Nazi rise to power, and the multiple pressures on Jewish-Christian relations under the tragic burdens of that era: from events in Nazi Germany to the intensifying refugee crisis, the Second World War, and the genocide of European Jews. The book's main focus is on the Jewish-Christian circles in Switzerland. As a neutral nation and because of its shared borders with Nazi Germany, by 1939 Switzerland was the operational base for many international organizations, including Jewish and Christian agencies. While much of this work was humanitarian, it fostered deeper relationships. By the end of 1943 there was a formal Jewish-Christian dialogue in Switzerland that included theological exchanges. These interfaith initiatives gained new urgency after confirmation in 1942 of the genocide of European Jews, leading to a deeper transformation among some Christian participants, who began to rethink theological teachings about Jews and Judaism. Before 1945 most Christians, even those involved in Jewish-Christian [End Page 815] relations, still held supersessionist views and supported the proselytization of Jews. Ahrens traces how these assumptions began to change and discusses the statements and meetings in the early postwar era that preceded the groundbreaking conversations in Seelisberg. The appendixes include the texts of the relevant declarations of that era, as well as participant rosters from Seelisberg and other major interreligious meetings during the war and immediately afterwards. Ahrens also analyzes Seelisberg's legacy, including the development of formalized Jewish-Christian dialogue, new theological work, and the Catholic-Jewish conversations that led to Vatican II. There is much new information (one of the book's many revelations for me was the scope of Catholic-Protestant interaction in early interfaith conversations). The Seelisberg conference remains one of the most significant interreligious events in history, and the process by which it came into being is instructive, not only for Jewish-Christian relations, but for broader interreligious questions today. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in interfaith history and Jewish-Christian relations. Victoria Barnett The University of Virginia Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press
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