Archbishop of Canterbury meets Chief Rabbis in Jerusalem

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has held talks in Jerusalem with Israel's Chief Rabbis on Wednesday.

The Archbishop, accompanied by Bishop Suhail Dawani (Bishop in Jerusalem) and Bishop Michael Jackson (Bishop of Clogher), held the second in a series of annual discussions with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger of Israel, accompanied by the Chief Rabbi of Haifa Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen.

The first in the series was held at Lambeth Palace on 5 September 2006.

Dr Rowan Williams said, "These conversations are an invaluable opportunity to cement the relationship between our communities, and to build on the opportunities that inter religious cooperation provides.

"Our shared scriptural understanding led us to reaffirm our understanding of the sanctity of life.

"Dialogue and mutual respect are the seed beds within which understanding and common cause can flourish, sometimes, by the grace of God, in the most unpromising of circumstances."

Discussions also touched on recent inter-religious developments in the Holy Land and the wider region, and build on from a successful first meeting of the Anglican Jewish Commission in July.

However, further work was requested on themes such as environment and ecology, science and technology, and education.

The work of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land was welcomed and the significance of its forthcoming meeting in Washington was highlighted.

The Chief Rabbis congratulated the Archbishop on becoming a Co-President of Religions for Peace and endorsed its role in deepening the religious contribution to the well being of society.

A record of the discussion is contained in the Communiqué which can be found HERE