International Council of Christians and Jews

The International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) is an international interfaith umbrella organization that coordinates national bodies working to improve relations between Christians and Jews. It brings together member organizations in approximately 32 countries and serves as a forum for dialogue among religious leaders, theologians, educators, historians, and civil-society participants. Its work is rooted in the effort to confront Christian antisemitism and rebuild Jewish-Christian relations after the Holocaust and the Second World War. The movement that eventually produced the ICCJ developed through several earlier initiatives in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the National Conference of Christians and Jews emerged from campaigns against sectarian hostility and religious prejudice during the interwar period. In Britain, the Council of Christians and Jews was established during the Second World War with support from Anglican Archbishop William Temple and Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz, alongside Catholic participation in its early years. These organizations promoted religious tolerance and cooperation among major Christian denominations and Jewish communities, although their structures and theological emphases changed over time. The first international ICCJ conference took place in Oxford in August 1946 under the theme “Freedom, Justice, Responsibility.” The meeting was held in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and sought an international response to antisemitism in Europe. Participants came from a broad group of countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and other parts of Europe and the Commonwealth. The Oxford gathering helped establish an international network and led directly to the Seelisberg Conference of 1947, which focused specifically on the roots and consequences of Christian antisemitism. The Seelisberg meeting produced ten recommendations concerning Christian teaching about Judaism and Jews. These principles became an important reference point for later Jewish-Christian dialogue and anticipated changes in Christian approaches to Jewish identity, scripture, religious difference, and antisemitism. National dialogue organizations subsequently developed in countries including France and Germany, strengthening the ICCJ’s role as a coordinating body rather than a centralized religious authority. The ICCJ’s mission combines theological dialogue with practical work on human rights, human dignity, education, and the prevention of prejudice. It emphasizes that dialogue should not require participants to abandon their own religious commitments. Instead, Christians and Jews are encouraged to engage one another while respecting the integrity and distinctiveness of each tradition. The organization also opposes racism, discrimination, intolerance, antisemitism, and the misuse of religion for political or national domination. Its activities include international conferences, scholarly and educational programs, support for national member organizations, outreach in regions without established Jewish-Christian dialogue, and the development of resources for teachers, students, clergy, rabbis, and researchers. The ICCJ also provides a platform for theological debate and has increasingly participated in wider Abrahamic dialogue involving Muslims as well as Christians and Jews. In 1993 it published a joint-oriented study on Jewish and Christian contributions to a better world, presenting separate Jewish and Christian perspectives alongside areas of shared ethical concern. The organization’s international headquarters is in Heppenheim, Germany, in the building associated with the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, who lived there before fleeing Nazi persecution. The ICCJ also supports the Jewish-Christian Relations website, a resource devoted to documenting and encouraging mutual understanding. It remains a network-based, noncommercial institution whose principal offering is convening, research, education, advocacy, and coordination rather than consumer products.

The ICCJ grew out of interfaith initiatives created in response to religious intolerance in the first half of the twentieth century. In the United States, the National Conference of Christians and Jews promoted cooperation among Protestants, Catholics, and Jews during a period marked by sectarian conflict and antisemitic agitation. In Britain, the intellectual groundwork for closer Christian-Jewish relations included the writings of Anglican cleric James Parkes, who criticized Christian mistreatment of Jews and opposed efforts to convert Jews to Christianity. The British Council of Christians and Jews was formed during the Second World War with the involvement of Anglican Archbishop William Temple and Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz. Catholic representatives also participated at first, although the Catholic Church’s relationship with the British organization changed during the postwar period. The Holocaust gave the movement a new urgency. The destruction of European Jewish communities exposed the catastrophic consequences of antisemitism and forced Christian institutions to reconsider inherited teachings and practices concerning Jews and Judaism. In August 1946, representatives of national Christian-Jewish organizations and related religious and civic bodies met in Oxford for the first international conference of the emerging council. The conference addressed freedom, justice, and responsibility and called for an urgent international meeting focused on antisemitism in Europe. That meeting took place at Seelisberg in Switzerland in 1947. The conference produced ten recommendations intended to correct harmful Christian presentations of Judaism and Jewish history. The recommendations emphasized the Jewish origins of Christianity, rejected distorted depictions of Jews, and encouraged more responsible teaching and preaching. They became one of the most influential early statements in modern Jewish-Christian dialogue and helped shape subsequent educational and theological work. National organizations continued to develop after the Oxford and Seelisberg meetings. A French chapter was established in 1948, followed by a German coordinating body in 1949. Over time, the ICCJ became an umbrella network rather than a single centralized institution. Its role has been to connect national councils, facilitate international meetings, encourage common standards, and provide an environment in which Jewish and Christian participants can discuss theology, history, social ethics, and contemporary prejudice. The organization’s mission broadened beyond reconciliation alone. It came to include the defense of human dignity and human rights, opposition to racism and discrimination, rejection of religious intolerance, and resistance to the political misuse of religion. The ICCJ has consistently presented dialogue as an encounter in which each participant remains committed to his or her own tradition while recognizing the integrity and otherness of the other. Its programs have involved clergy, rabbis, teachers, students, scholars, and community leaders. In 1993, the ICCJ published a document examining how Jews and Christians could cooperate in contributing to a better world. The publication combined distinct Jewish and Christian approaches with a discussion of shared ethical possibilities. The ICCJ also developed an online presence through Jewish-Christian Relations, a resource site devoted to mutual understanding and the circulation of relevant scholarship and news. In more recent decades, its work has increasingly intersected with Abrahamic dialogue, bringing Muslim participants and broader questions of interreligious cooperation into some initiatives. The ICCJ’s headquarters in Heppenheim, Germany, is located in the house associated with Martin Buber. The location is symbolically connected to the history of German Jewish life, Nazi persecution, exile, and the postwar effort to reconstruct relations between religious communities. Today, the ICCJ remains a worldwide network of national organizations. Its principal activities are conferences, education, research, coordination, public engagement, and support for dialogue in places where structured Jewish-Christian relations are limited or absent.

• 2000

  Jewish-Christian Relations resource donated to ICCJ

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  The organization received the Jewish-Christian Relations website, strengthening its role as a digital information and education hub.

• 1993

  Publication on shared Jewish-Christian responsibility

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  The ICCJ issued a study exploring Jewish and Christian perspectives on cooperation for a better world.

• 1949

  German coordinating organization founded

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  The Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit was established in Germany.

• 1948

  French national member organization founded

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  A French Jewish-Christian dialogue organization, Amitié judéo-chrétienne de France, was established as part of the expanding national network.

• 1947

  Seelisberg Conference

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  The conference issued ten recommendations that became a landmark framework for reforming Christian teaching about Jews and Judaism.

• 1946

  First international conference in Oxford

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  Representatives from multiple countries met in Oxford to address freedom, justice, responsibility, and the urgent need to confront antisemitism after the Holocaust.

• 1942

  British Council of Christians and Jews takes shape

  [1]International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org

  The British council was established during the Second World War with prominent Anglican and Jewish leadership and became one of the principal antecedents of the international movement.

A global coordinating platform for respectful Jewish-Christian dialogue, post-Holocaust reconciliation, theological exchange, and action against antisemitism and religious prejudice.

• Interfaith convening · 1946

  International Jewish-Christian dialogue conferences

  The ICCJ coordinates conferences and meetings held in different countries. These gatherings bring together representatives of national councils, religious leaders, academics, educators, and civil-society participants to discuss theology, history, antisemitism, human rights, and practical cooperation. The conferences are the organization’s principal mechanism for maintaining a worldwide network and developing common priorities.

• Education and scholarship

  Educational and research programs

  The organization supports education and research intended to improve understanding between Jews and Christians. Its audiences include students, teachers, clergy, rabbis, religious leaders, and scholars. Topics include Jewish-Christian history, theological interpretation, antisemitism, human dignity, religious pluralism, and methods for constructive interfaith dialogue.

• Digital publication and resource platform · 2000

  Jewish-Christian Relations

  Jewish-Christian Relations is an online resource associated with the ICCJ. It is devoted to mutual respect and understanding between Christians and Jews and provides a channel for relevant news, scholarship, educational material, and discussion of contemporary Jewish-Christian relations.

• Interfaith framework · 1947

  Seelisberg principles

  The ten recommendations developed at Seelisberg in 1947 form a foundational educational and theological framework for addressing antisemitism and harmful Christian representations of Judaism. They remain closely associated with the ICCJ’s historical identity and its post-Holocaust reconciliation mission.

• 1947Seelisberg anti-antisemitism initiative

  Europe · North America · International

  The Seelisberg Conference brought Christian and Jewish participants together to identify ways Christian teaching could avoid perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes and historical distortions.

  Outcome. The conference produced ten recommendations that became an enduring reference for Jewish-Christian dialogue and religious education.

  Source
• Global Jewish-Christian dialogue coordination

  International

  The ICCJ supports national organizations and encourages structured dialogue in regions where Jewish-Christian relations have little or no established institutional framework.

  Outcome. The organization has developed a network of national member groups and expanded its work into education, human rights, and wider Abrahamic dialogue.

  Source

• 1993

  Publish a shared ethical reflectionOther

  Background

  The ICCJ sought to move beyond historical reconciliation toward practical cooperation on issues affecting the wider world.

  Action taken

  It published a document presenting Jewish and Christian perspectives and discussing a common religious basis for cooperation.

  Aftermath

  The publication reinforced the organization’s emphasis on dialogue, shared responsibility, and cooperative action while preserving distinct religious identities.

  Source

• 1947

  Adopt the Seelisberg recommendationsOther

  Background

  Postwar participants sought practical guidance for correcting Christian teachings and attitudes that had contributed to antisemitism.

  Action taken

  The Seelisberg gathering issued ten recommendations concerning Christian presentations of Judaism and Jewish people.

  Aftermath

  The recommendations became a durable foundation for later dialogue, theological reflection, and educational reform.

  Source

• 1946

  Create an international coordinating forumStrategy

  Background

  The Holocaust and the persistence of antisemitism created an urgent need for international coordination among organizations working on Christian-Jewish reconciliation.

  Action taken

  Representatives convened the first international conference in Oxford and developed the basis for an international council linking national organizations.

  Aftermath

  The Oxford meeting led to the Seelisberg Conference and helped establish the ICCJ as an international umbrella network.

  Source

1. 1International Council of Christians and Jewsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2International Council of Christians and Jews official websiteiccj.org