Seelisberg Conference

The International Conference of Christians and Jews (International Conference of Christians and Jews, also Emergency Conference on Antisemitism ) took place from 30 July to 5 August 1947 in the municipality of Seelisberg, Switzerland. Their purpose was to investigate the causes of Christian anti-Semitism and led to the founding of the International Council of Christians and Jews ( ICCJ ).

Among the 65 participants from 19 countries were:

  • 28 Jews, including Jules Isaac, Jacob Kaplan (former Chief Rabbi of France), Alexandre Safran (former Chief Rabbi in Romania), the Geneva Writers Josué Jéhouda, Professor Selig Brodetsky, President of the Representative Council of the Jews in England;
  • 23 Protestants;
  • 9 Catholics, including Père Marie- Benoît, Father Calliste Lopinot, Abbot Charles Journet, Father Jean de Menasce, Father Paul DeMANN.

During this conference, the assembled Christian intellectuals undertook a review of the Christian teaching about Jews and Judaism. They weighed, the degree to which Christians by handing down of anti-Semitic prejudices and antijudaistischer responsibility on the Nazi genocide contributed, and then realized that the Christian doctrine needs to be corrected urgently in this regard. To this end they worked out ten points that were well determined from the 18 proposals to avoid the prejudices against the Jews of the historian Jules Isaac. Their distribution should help push back the prejudices against the Jews, who were in the Western and Christian thought.

The Ten Points of Seelisberg

The Christian conference participants formulated under the title " An Address to the churches " ten theses for a changed ratio of the Christians towards the Jews, who were transferred for a conference ICCJ in Berlin in the German:

In some publications, the seventh hypothesis is supplemented with the following sentence:

"It's to provide all Christian parents and teachers the heavy responsibility in mind, they assume if they represent the Passion story in a superficial way. This puts them at risk to plant an aversion in the minds of their children or listeners, whether intentionally or unintentionally. For psychological reasons, in a simple mind, which is moved by passionate love and compassion for the crucified Redeemer, easily in one indiscriminate hatred, turn against all Jews of all times, even against those of our time, the natural revulsion against the persecutors of Jesus. "

Protestantism Anti-Judaism The Holocaust Pierre Mamie Sankt Augustin Swiss Bishops Conference Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches
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