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October 4, 2002
New group to challenge hate
Local interfaith organizations are focusing on discussion and
education.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
The Jewish community should work more closely with the Christian
community to challenge the misinformation and hate propaganda against
Israel that is being spread by hate groups. This was the statement
made by the 17 participants of the first meeting of the new Christian-Jewish
Friendship Circle that met Sept. 30.
Sally Rogow, one of the meeting organizers, said the group's ultimate
goal is to challenge hate before rising anti-Semitism results in
more acts of violence.
"There is no such thing as appeasement," she said, referring
to how hate should be challenged. "If the countries that called
themselves democracies had stood up against Hitler 60 years ago,
how many millions of lives would have been saved?"
Before splitting up into four smaller teams, the group, which included
representatives from Bridges for Peace and the Israel Action Committee,
shared stories of their own confrontations with hate or anti-Semitism.
"When we look at the whole picture of the world, what we're
seeing is an anti-American and anti-Israel campaign and it is a
resurgence of what we saw 60 years ago," Rogow said. "Palestinian
children are being taught to hate in schools, anti-Semitism is raging
and we're seeing silence."
The group set up several goals in order to accomplish their mission:
to inform the Christian and Jewish communities of the danger of
spreading misinformation, to compile documented proof of persecution
and abuse of Christians and Jews in various countries, including
Canada, to provide summary information in flyers and booklets, and
to facilitate events like rallies and lectures by educated speakers.
"We want to be a working group," Rogow said of the Friendship
Circle's desire to act. "We want to reach out into the community
and to everybody who cares about honesty, democracy and humanity."
Many places to join
The Christian Jewish Friendship Circle is just the newest of several
interfaith groups around the Lower Mainland with similar goals.
Some of the groups are open to public participation and others are
represented by local leadership or members of the clergy.
The Multi-Faith Action Society, chaired by Rev. Barry Cooke of Dunbar
Heights United Church, involves both clergy and lay people. The
group includes Jews, Christians, Protestants, Unitarians and some
non-western religious groups, and they are always looking for more
participants.
The Multi-Faith Action Society's goal is to provide education about
the different religious traditions in town and also to develop common
action and advocacy. For more information, call Cooke at 604-731-6420.
For clergy only, the Faith Community Leaders Breakfast Group meets
once a month and runs programs on theological, social policy and
political issues. Beth Israel's Rabbi Charles Feinberg is on the
steering committee of the group, which includes Jewish, Protestant,
Catholic, Bhuddist, Hindu, Muslim and Scientology clergy. For more
information, call Feinberg at 604-731-4161.
The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) has established an outreach group
that works closely with the Christian community. Feinberg and Rabbi
Robert Daum are involved with the CJC group, as are representatives
from the Vancouver School of Theology and other local ministers.
The group's goal is to discuss what they share in common on policy
issues and to explore areas that they might disagree. They also
spend a lot of time discussing Israeli issues.
They met once last spring and plan to meet again this week. The
group is not open to the public at this point. However, they have
plans to develop working groups that will combine the efforts of
clergy and lay people. For more information, call the CJC office
at 604-257-5101.
The CJC is also involved in the Pacific Interfaith Citizenship Association
of B.C., which includes representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu,
Roman Catholic and Unitarian communities, as well as the Khalsa
Diwan Society and the Zaroastrian Society of B.C.
This group meets on a monthly basis to discuss issues such as citizenship,
hospital chaplaincy and human rights advocacy. For more information,
call 604-683-6633.
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