American Jewish Committee Contributes To Rebuild Greek Orthodox Church Destroyed in Sept. 11 Terror Attack

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 16 October 2001

The American Jewish Committee presented today a contribution of $10,000 to help rebuild the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

The tiny 85-year old church, which had stood at 155 Cedar Street in Lower Manhattan, was buried under the rubble of the World Trade Center, destroyed by terrorists on September 11.

Responding to the St. Nicholas congregation's desire to erect their house of worship anew, the AJC met today with Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and delivered to him the donation from AJC's relief funds.

"We are proud to join with the Greek Orthodox community in rebuilding the St. Nicholas church," said Martin Kaplan, Chair of AJC's Commission on Interreligious Affairs. "This gesture of support reflects the long history of cooperation between the Jewish and Greek Orthodox communities."

Accepting the donation, Archbishop Demetrios said: "This gesture is a treasure, a movement of the heart."

The American Jewish Committee has a longstanding relationship with the Greek Orthodox Church, and has long spearheaded the Jewish voice in relationships with other faith groups.

In the same spirit, following a spate of arson attacks on black churches across the United States in the mid-1990s, AJC joined with leading Christian organizations to assist in repairing and rebuilding damaged churches.

Participating in the meeting with Archbishop Demetrios, in addition to Mr. Kaplan, were David A. Harris, AJC Executive Director; Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, AJC's Director of Interreligious Affairs; and Kenneth Bandler, AJC's Director of Public Relations.

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