Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday was set for the beginning of Christmas festivities, with free Christmas trees distributed by the municipality and pilgrims flocking the city’s streets. A cheerful bell-ringing Santa walked back and forth on the Old City’s walls, calling on Christian residents to come pick out a tree free of charge. “We wish Read More
Pope Francis has written a Christmas letter to the Christians of the Middle East to express his closeness to them at a time of “afflictions and tribulations” due to “the continuing hostilities in the region, but especially because of the work of a newer and disturbing terrorist organization.” Dear Brothers and Sisters, “Blessed be the Read More
The story of the origin of the Christmas creche rests with the very holy man, St. Francis of Assisi. In the year 1223, St. Francis, a deacon, was visiting the town of Grecio to celebrate Christmas. Grecio was a small town built on a mountainside overlooking a beautiful valley. The people had cultivated the fertile Read More
Gamaliel the Elder or Rabban Gamaliel I, was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early-1st century CE. He was son of Simeon ben Hillel, and grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder, and died twenty years before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). He fathered a son, Read More
1947 Seelisberg Conference participants & commissions The Seelisberg Conference (International Conference of Christians and Jews) was an international conference that took place in the small town of Seelisberg in Switzerland from 30 July to 5 August 1947 in order to study the causes of Christian antisemitism. Among the 70 participants from 17 countries were: 28 Jews, including Jules Isaac, Jacob Kaplan, acting Read More
