World’s Jewish and Hindu Leaders Gather in New Delhi
Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs,
and president of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious
Consultations (IJCIC), met with and addressed world Hindu leaders at the
historic first Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit in New Delhi. In a joint
declaration, the religious leaders affirmed their shared values, condemned
violence, and pledged to address the challenges of poverty and illness. As
special representative of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s Permanent Commission for
Interreligious Dialogue, Rabbi Rosen also met with Buddhist and Muslim leaders
of India as well.
Declaration of Mutual Understanding and
Cooperation from the First Jewish-Hindu Leadership Summit
Delhi,
17-18 Shvat, 5767; February 5-6, 2007
The first Hindu-Jewish leadership
summit took place in Delhi 17-18 Shvat, 5767; corresponding to February 5-6,
2007; at which the delegation of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel convened
with major religious leaders of Hindu dharma. It is planned that this
historic gathering will lead to ongoing bilateral meetings on shared values
and common concerns, many of which were highlighted at this
summit.
The participants affirmed that:
1. Their
respective Traditions teach that there is One Supreme Being who is the Ultimate
Reality, who has created this world in its blessed diversity and who has
communicated Divine ways of action for humanity, for different peoples in
different times and places.
2. The religious identities of both
Jewish and Hindu communities are related to components of Faith, Scripture,
Peoplehood, Culture, Land and Language.
3. Hindus and Jews seek to
maintain their respective heritage and pass it on to the succeeding generations,
while living in respectful relations with other communities.
4.
Neither seeks to proselytize, nor undermine or replace in any way the religious
identities of other faith communities. They expect other communities to respect
their religious identities and commitments, and condemn all activities that go
against the sanctity of this mutual respect.
5. Both the Hindu and
Jewish Traditions affirm the sanctity of life and aspire for a society in which
all live in peace and harmony with one another. Accordingly they condemn all
acts of violence in the name of any religion or against any
religion.
6. The Jewish and Hindu communities are committed to the
ancient traditions of Judaism and Hindu dharma respectively, and have both, in
their own ways, gone through the painful experiences of persecution, oppression
and destruction. Therefore, they realize the need to educate the present and
succeeding generations about their past, in order that they will make right
efforts to promote religious harmony.
7. The representatives of
the two faith communities recognize the need for understanding one another in
terms of lifestyles, philosophy, religious symbols, culture, etc. They also
recognize that they have to make themselves understood by other faith
communities. They hope that through their bilateral initiatives, these needs
would be met.
8. Because both traditions affirm the central importance
of social responsibility for their societies and for the collective good of
humanity, the participants pledged themselves to work together to help address
the challenges of poverty, sickness and inequitable distribution of resources.
9. The representatives of the two faith communities also agree to
constitute a Standing Committee on Hindu-Jewish Relations.
Rabbi Yona
Metzger (Chief Rabbi of Israel)
Swami Dayanand Saraswati (Hindu Dharma
Acharya Sabha)
