Religious leaders in Haifa, Israel, are engaged in various interfaith initiatives and educational programs aimed at fostering understanding and cooperation. These local efforts occur against a backdrop of ongoing diplomatic tensions between the Vatican and Israel, particularly concerning statements related to military actions in Gaza. The city of Haifa, known for its diverse population, serves as a focal point for these dialogues and shared community events.
Local Interfaith Initiatives
The St. Louis the King Cathedral, representing the Maronite Catholic community in Haifa, hosted its annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. During the event, Reverend Yousef Yacoub invited Rabbi Na'ama Dafni of the Or Hadash Reform congregation to participate. Rabbi Dafni lit a blue-and-white braided candle and recited a nondenominational prayer, expressing wishes for peaceful holidays and good neighborliness. Reverend Yacoub stated his intention was to demonstrate a shared pursuit of "light and for peace and for happiness for people," and concluded the ceremony with the declaration, "Blessed be the peacemakers."
Haifa's Diverse Demographics and Historical Context
Haifa, a city on Israel's Mediterranean coast, is home to a diverse population. This includes a Jewish majority, various Christian denominations such as Maronite and Melkite Greek Catholics, and significant communities of Muslims, Druze, and Baháʼís.
The Maronite community has a documented history of persecution spanning over 1,500 years under different rulers in the Middle East. St. Louis the King Cathedral, established in the late 19th century, received French protection due to Ottoman Empire restrictions on new church foundations for local populations. Reverend Yacoub noted that some Jewish individuals he encounters associate Christians with European antisemitism, such as the 1492 expulsion from Spain. He informed them that Middle Eastern Christians often have no direct connection to, or extensive awareness of, these specific European historical events. Conversely, Rabbi Dafni highlighted that many Israeli Jews, including her own family, have European ancestry and direct experience with the Holocaust and historical anti-Jewish sentiment in Europe, emphasizing the relevance of such historical contexts to their lived experience.
Vatican Declarations and Contemporary Relevance
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a Vatican declaration proclaimed by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965. This document disavowed centuries of antisemitic theology, including the notion that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ could be attributed to all Jews of that era or to contemporary Jews, and rejected the idea of Jews being "rejected or accursed by God."
Reverend Yacoub described Nostra Aetate as a significant development for Christian communities where Jewish people are minorities, particularly in Europe. However, he suggested its impact was less pronounced in the Middle East, where interreligious diversity was already established. Rabbi Dafni offered a different perspective, noting its importance for Israeli Jews with European heritage due to their family histories and experiences.
Interreligious Dialogue and Educational Initiatives
Reverend Yacoub and Rabbi Dafni are both members of an interfaith forum at Haifa University's Laboratory for Religious Studies, co-founded by Professor Uriel Simonsohn. Following the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, this forum covertly convened 20 religious leaders. According to Professor Simonsohn, the purpose of these confidential meetings was to prevent a recurrence of intercommunal violence between Arabs and Jews, which had occurred in Haifa two years prior following an earlier conflict in Gaza. The city has since largely maintained peace.
The Haifa Religious Studies Laboratory now offers a graduate course in interfaith dialogue, which enrolls 12 students from various religious backgrounds, including an imam, Druze women, Jewish individuals, and a Catholic priest. Reverend Munier Mazzawi, who leads the Greek Catholic Church in Maghar, is a student in this program. He expressed interest in learning about Jewish history, including antisemitism in Europe and historical discrimination faced by Jews in Arab countries. Karen Levisohn, a secular Jewish instructor in the program pursuing a doctorate on Christian tourism in Israel, observed that her understanding of Christian sites in the Galilee developed after she became a tour guide, contrasting it with school curricula that typically focus on the Crusades and the Holocaust.
Broader Diplomatic Context
These local interfaith efforts in Haifa are situated amidst broader diplomatic tensions between the Vatican and Israel. These tensions include statements attributed to Pope Francis regarding Israel's military actions in Gaza, which included a call for an investigation into potential genocide. Israel has rejected characterizations of its actions as genocide. Yaron Sideman, Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, stated that Israel was exercising its right to self-defense in response to the October 7, 2023, attack, which he termed a "genocidal massacre." Ms. Levisohn noted that Israeli reception of Pope Francis's earlier calls was viewed through the historical lens of events like the Crusades and the Holocaust.