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Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, executive director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU), returned to Edmonton, Canada, March 18-21 to continue a conversation the CCJU began last year when it sponsored a conference for historians and theologians on the topic, “What Do We Want the Other to Teach About Our History?" [See Conferences.]
Rabbi Ehrenkranz was one of three speakers in the annual dialogue sponsored by the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action. He was joined by Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Collins of the Edmonton Archdiocese, and Saleem Qureshi, professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta. The dialogue among Jews, Christians and Muslims focused on the importance and significance of Jerusalem to their religious traditions.
“No two people perceive God's relationship to humans in the same way,” the rabbi told the audience. “Nonetheless, we must join together to make the world a better place based upon the fact that Judaism, Christianity and Islam are fundamentally religions of peace. Jerusalem must become the city of peace.” As part of the two-day conference, a prayer service was held on the anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa, when police fired on a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration, killing 67 people and wounding 186 others. In 1966, the United Nations proclaimed March 21 the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and in 1989 Canada began to promote it as a time for education and reflection.
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