The 2026 ICCJ conference in Hannover has ended

ICCJ Conference 2026 in Hannover has begun with a commemorative moment dedicated to fr prof John Pawlikowski, honorary president of ICCJ.

Many of us have known him and he was well known to Jewish- Christian dialogue groups. John was outstanding scholar, dedicated teacher, good and kind friend. May his memory be for a blessing

Opening event of ICCJ conference

Rabbi prof. Dr. David Meyer received the Seelisberg Prize 2026 on July 12 at the ICCJ conference in Hanover !!!

During an opening event of ICCJ conference , Rabbi prof dr David Meyer received 2026 Seelisberg award for his outstanding work within Jewish Christian dialogue and education .

It was an honour to meet him and handed him the certificate. Rabbi Meyer is also Leo Baeck College graduate where he got his smiha. Today he is teaching at Card Bea Center at Gregorianum (and other places ).

In the laudatory speech by Massimo Gargulio, he not only praised David’s academic credentials but also said that he is a teacher and professor beyond the classroom. Tomorrow an official press release will be published.

ICCJ board members and staff congratulate him and thank him for this outstanding contributions toward Jewish Christian relations !

The award, given annually since 2022 by the ICCJ and the University of Salzburg's Center for Intercultural Theology, honors the 1947 Seelisberg gathering that helped launch modern Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Born in Paris in 1967, Meyer trained as a rabbi at LBC in London and earned a PhD in Religious Studies from KU Leuven. Since 2010, he has taught at the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, working on Jewish-Christian dialogue, rabbinic literature, and theological translation, with scholarship on scriptural interpretation, midrash, and Talmudic ethics.

Plenary Session I – Terminological Approaches:Repentance, Repair and Reconciliation:

Exploring Commonalities and Differences

Those of us who engage in interreligious and intercommunal dialogue share a vision of a future in which both unity and diversity are valued and respected. Unfortunately, the world around us appears to be ever more contentious, creating angry rifts in society at large, as well as within families and among friends. This has impacted religious communities as well, leading to tensions within, and between, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim, and other communities.

When relationships are strained, rebuilding them can be difficult. Over the last few generations, many Jews, Christians, and Muslims have sought to overcome difficult histories through dialogue, a process that often includes aspects of repentance, repair, and reconciliation.

There have been, and will continue to be, crises and controversies to be confronted, each of which, it is hoped, will lead to greater mutual appreciation.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims have their own vocabularies and unique approaches to the concepts of repentance, repair and reconciliation; all, however, are based on affirming the dignity of every human being. This raises several questions for exploration.

• Who can repent - individuals? Societies?
• Who can accept repentance or grant forgiveness?
• How do we prioritize the inclusive and universal aspects of our traditions over any tribalism or bias against others?

This moment in history challenges us consider the specific meaning of these terms within each of our traditions both to deepen our knowledge of one another and to discover resources and strategies that we can put into practice to create or restore inter-communal harmony.

Speakers:

• Elias H. Füllenbach (Germany) /
• Noam Marans (USA) /
• Axel Töllner (Germany)

Moderator:

• Ursula Rudnick (Germany)

Plenary Session II – Liturgical Approaches:

Performing Repentance, Repair, and Reconciliation: Learning from Liturgies, Rituals, and Customs

Speakers:

• Engin Karahan (Germany),
• Ruth Langer (USA),
• Geoffrey Ready (Canada),
• Anne Marie Reijnen (France)

Moderator:

• Katarzyna Kowalska (Poland)

Key sources for understanding repentance, repair, and reconciliation within different traditions are the ways these concepts are expressed in liturgy and ritual.

Through an examination of how each tradition constructs repentance. We usually think of repentance as individual does to atone and make amends for having done wrong or “sinned”. The community often plays a role in an individual’s repentance but are there ways that a community can repent.

• Is there a difference between guilt and responsibility?
• What might communal repentance look like and are there examples of this within our traditions?
• What resources are there for the creation of multifaith rituals of repentance and reconciliation?

Plenary Session III Ethical Approaches:

Each tradioon’s approach to repentance, repair and reconciliation is based on the idea that, despite what they teach about how to live an ethical life and contribute to creating an ethical society, human beings are fallible.

When individuals or communities do not live up to their ethical obligations, a process of acknowledgement and reparation can play an essential role in allowing both those who have erred and those who have been harmed to nd a way forward together.

What can each of our traditions contribute to eorts of reconciliation on a societal level that involve both religious and secular actors (authorities, NGOs, etc.)?

Speakers:

• Mohammed Ibraheem Ahmed (UK) /
• Wibke Janssen (Germany) /
• Heather Miller Rubens (USA) /
• Frederek Musall (Germany)

Moderator:

• Friedhelm Pieper (Germany)

Plenary Session IV Practical Approaches:

(Wednesday, July 15, 9:30 am – 11:00 am)

In this plenary, the focus was on the lived experience of interfaith activists who have been involved in projects or initiatives that focused on repentance, repair and reconciliation.

There are important lessons to be learned about how the projects themselves were organized and what was involved in running them, including the initial motivation for embarking on the project in the rst place, as well as what worked and what did not.

Speakers:

• Shoshana Boyd Gelfand (UK) /
• Derviş Hızarcı (Germany) /
• Wolfgang Reinbold, (Germany) /
• Mark Walsh (Australia) /
• Ophir Yarden (Israel)

Moderator: Pavol Bargár (Czech Republic)

One of the two trips during ICCJ conference time. One group went to Bergen Belsen where thousands of people perished. We walked around, listened and reflected and finished with a moment of commemoration

More:

• The 2026 ICCJ conference in Hannover is about to begin
• ICCJ 2026 Conference in Hanover / Germany
• International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ)
• Międzynarodowa Rada Chrześcijan i Żydów (ICCJ) - Kronika
• Międzynarodowa Rada Chrześcijan i Żydów ICCJ
• ICCJ - konferencje doroczne od 1947
• Seelisberg 1947 (30 VII - 5 VIII)