A step in the right direction in Israel?

Israeli religious leaders establish an unprecedented joint council

On 27 June 2007, a new forum called the Council of Religious Community Leaders in Israel convened in Jerusalem. The conference was the culmination of months of work by a steering committee, set up at the initiative of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior, for the purpose of improving inter-religious dialogue and promoting issues of common interest to all the religions in Israel.

Representatives from the Jewish, Muslim, Druze, Greek Orthodox and other Christian denominations, Bahá'í, Ahmadiyya and Samaritan faiths attended the conference.

At the conference, the religious leaders adopted a covenant wherein they make a commitment to the sanctity of human life and denounced violence against the innocent, especially violence in the name of religion. They state also that children must be educated in this respect. Relgious and cultural heritages should be preserved and free access for all believers to their holy sites should be guaranteed.

The full text of this convenant can be read on the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website.