The moment religious leaders from around 40 faith-based organisations worldwide agreed to keep defending the individual right to seek asylum during a gathering in Geneva marked a high point on the eve of the Global Refugee Forum, the world’s biggest such international gathering. They met at a one-day event on 12 December at the World Council of Churches (WCC), chaired by an Armenian archbishop and a UN diplomat who was once a Turkish legislator.
Judaism
Rabbi David Rosen promotes interfaith, peace, justice, veganism
Rabbi David Rosen is a man dedicated to a myriad of missions: to further interfaith dialogue, to pursue justice and peace, and to promote veganism and healthy living. And because of his tenacity, he has greatly furthered these causes and influenced many people along the way. Capping a long career of interreligious involvement, Rosen has recently been involved in startling changes in Saudi Arabia related to interfaith relations, and the notable change in the religious orientation of the Kingdom.
Melbourne: Yom Ha’Shoah
24 April: Yom Ha’Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) is a day set aside to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust or Shoah. Many Australians with Jewish ties or heritage observe Yom Ha’Shoah. It commemorates the lives and heroism of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945.
Babylonian Talmud Online
One of the most accessible Hebrew and English translations of the Babylonian Talmud is going open source. Today, Sefaria, an online nonprofit bringing traditional Jewish texts to the internet, announced that it will be posting the entire compendium with the crisp bilingual translation of Jerusalem polymath Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz Even-Yisrael.
Hanukkah: The Festival of Religious Freedom
Hanukkah is the festival on which Jews celebrate their victory in the fight for religious freedom more than two thousand years ago. Tragically that fight is no less important today – and not only for Jews, but for people of all faiths.
NSW: Youth show interfaith spirit
WHEN more than 300 people from different religious backgrounds attended Australia’s largest interfaith event for young people – the Youth PoWR conference – in North Sydney last Saturday night (September 3), the frequency of nods of understanding stood out most.