For many years, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) have partnered in fostering interfaith dialogue, not least of all by supporting the Jerusalem meetings of the Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. We have several good timely reasons to present to the public this documentation of Joint Statements issued by the Bilateral Commission: the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s death (June 3rd, 1963) as well as his forthcoming canonization (along with that of Pope John Paul II); the 10th meeting of the Bilateral Commission; and the forthcoming visit of Pope Francis to the Holy Land.

Our publication includes all Joint Statements of the Bilateral Commission meetings 2003-2013. In a brief introduction, Rabbi Dr David Rosen, AJC’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs, and Michael Mertes, Director of KAS Israel, pay tribute to the relevance of this dialogue to Jews and Christians. They come to the conclusion that, while many theological antagonisms and misapprehensions have been overcome among experts and religious leaders, this message still has to be conveyed to large parts of the grassroots of each other’s community.