American Jewish Committee Welcomes Polish Bishops' Statement on anti-Semitism

American Jewish Committee
Monday, 28 August 2000

The American Jewish Committee has welcomed Poland's Roman Catholic Bishops' letter repudiating all forms of anti-Semitism and seeking forgiveness for acts of hostility that Christians have carried out against the Jewish people throughout history.

In their letter issued last Friday in the city of Czestochowa during Catholicism's Jubilee Year, the Polish Bishops called anti-Semitism "a sin" and urged Christian "solidarity with the people of Israel to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again, anywhere.''

For the past ten years the American Jewish Committee has maintained an office in Warsaw and has participated in a series of interreligious programs with the Polish Bishops Conference including scholar exchanges and leadership missions to Poland.

In 1991, following the end of Communist rule, the Polish Bishops issued a pioneering Pastoral Letter that denounced anti-Semitism and, like this year's statement also called for forgiveness for past assaults against both Jews and Judaism especially during World War II.

"Hopefully, this year's statement will become an integral part of Catholic teaching and preaching in Poland," said Rabbi A. James Rudin, AJC's senior adviser for interreligious relations. "The Polish Bishops declaration is also an important model for Christian churches in other parts of the world."

AJC looks forward to continued close cooperation with the Polish Bishops Conference.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org