DECLARATION ON JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS

Preamble

On the 60^th anniversary of the promulgation of the Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate (28 October 2025), you are invited to support and affirm this Declaration on Jewish-Christian Relations. By appending your name to this Declaration, you affirm your commitment to the positive changes that have taken place between Christians and Jews since Nostra Aetate, and the work yet to be realized.

We, the signatories of this Declaration on Jewish-Christian Relations pledge the following…

1. We pledge to respect the dignity, essential holiness, and moral potential of all people without any distinctions, and to deplore hatred and persecution at any time from any source.

“God created humankind in the Divine image.
In the image of God, God created them” (Gen 1:27).

2. We pledge to bring light to dispel the darkness of ignorance, prejudice, and misunderstanding by working together for justice, peace, the integrity of creation, and an end to suffering in our world.

“Then the Lord said: ‘I have observed the misery of my people. I have heard their cry. I know their sufferings’ ” (Ex 3:7).

3. We pledge to pray for one another: for peace in our hearts and peace in our world.

“May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you favour and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26).

4. We pledge to honour the spiritual heritage shared by Jews and Christians, to reawaken our sense of wonder and awe, and with God’s help, grow in spiritual and moral maturity.

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might” (Deut 6:5).
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18).

5. We pledge to honour the Sabbath, each in our own way, and give thanks for this gift from God, to refresh and renew our spirits.

“…and so, on the seventh day, God rested.
God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it, God rested from all the work of creation” (Gen 2:3).

6. We pledge to engage in attentive and respectful interreligious dialogue to reflect, re-imagine, and refine Jewish-Christian relations through friendship and cooperation.

“Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord” (Mal 3:16).

7. We pledge to support interreligious and intercultural education by promoting positive images of each other and rejecting negative stereotypes and prejudices.

“O Lord open our lips.
And our mouths will proclaim your praise” (Ps 51).

8. We pledge to encourage the mutual study of the religious texts we share, knowing that God’s Spirit is with us when we reflect on Scripture, and as we learn from sources, both traditional and modern, we are always enriched by the sacredness and uniqueness of each other’s traditions and interpretations.

“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad” (Deut 6:4).

9. We pledge to seek peace and actively pursue it as we uphold the hope that one day we shall enjoy lasting peace for the benefit of all.

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Is 2:4).

10. We pray to become a blessing for others, to receive the blessings we need for the journey we share, and for the wisdom to know we have been blessed.

“And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you” (Gen 12:2-3).

You are invited to join us in supporting and affirming this Declaration On Jewish-Christian Relations by appending your name to the Declaration HERE.