At the closure of the Council of Christians and Jews’ (CCJ’s) 75th Anniversary year, the Presidents of CCJ have re-affirmed their commitment to CCJ’s core mission. Read their full affirmation statement:

The Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) was founded in 1942 out of the crisis of civilisation that was the Second World War. Our predecessors came together to build an interfaith community that challenges hatred and nurtures relationships for the common good and that can serve as a model to other communities.  Over the past 75 years Christian/Jewish relations have grown strong and flourished in the UK. We celebrate today all that we have achieved together. However, global society is living through a period of increased hatred, extremism, and polarisation. Minorities are scapegoated; public debate is often characterised by conflict; people are fearful and place their trust in the promise of easy solutions.

In the UK, antisemitism and antisemitic discourse is more noticeable in public life and within social media. As leaders of the Jewish and Christian communities in the UK, we are concerned where this situation may lead. Antisemitism has no place in our society and those in positions of power and influence must listen to these concerns.

Similarly we continue to shed light and speak out on anti-Christian sentiment and persecution of Christians in many parts of the world today. It is our shared responsibility as leaders to speak out when genocide, displacement and injustice take place elsewhere, in our time.

We will also continue to share our different perspectives on complex and difficult issues between our communities and we will demonstrate the model of ‘listening and learning’ from one another even where this challenges us. This is the only way forward towards understanding and empathy.

We affirm our belief that all humankind is made in God’s image. In our respective faiths we pursue the Biblical commandment to uphold a community which is fair to its people and generous to the stranger. Our faiths compel us to speak to defend truth, to celebrate our diversity and common humanity; to be a voice for those in need and to seek transformation for the common good.

To mark CCJ’s 75th Anniversary we recommit ourselves to respond to the challenges of today. We call on people of faith to act together with us: To promote religious and cultural understanding and advance the elimination of religious and racial prejudice, with particular reference to antisemitism, through Education, Dialogue and Social action.

Signed by:

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster

Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism

The Rt Revd Dr Susan Brown, Moderator of General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community

His Eminence Archbishop Gregorious, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain

Rabbi Danny Rich, Senior Rabbi and The Chief Executive, Liberal Judaism

The Revd Dr Hugh Osgood, Moderator of the Free Churches

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi of Masorti Judaism

Also signed by:

The Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave OBE, Chair of CCJ and Bishop of Lichfield

And 53 alumni of CCJ’s Yad Vashem seminar for Christian clergy and church leaders; 16 Chairs of CCJ local branches; and others:

Yad Vashem Alumni

Deacon Angie Allport

Timothy Ashworth

Revd Canon Lisa Battye

Revd Tony Bryer

Revd Heather Carter

Revd James Coleman

Revd Doug Constable

Revd Lucy Dallas

Pastor John Dasaolu

Pastor Ranti Dasaolu

Revd Canon Kevin G Davies

Siriol Davies

Revd David Deboys

Revd Catherine Dixon

Revd Canon Dr Peter Doll

Revd Bonnie Evans-Hills

Revd Miriam Fife

Revd Anna Flindell

Rt Revd Christopher Foster

Revd Linda Galvin

Revd Melanie Greenall

Very Revd Jonathan Greener

Margaret Harrison

Revd Dr Peter Hatton

Jacqueline Holderness-Laar

Fr Jeremy Howard

Revd Steve Jakeman

Sue Jakeman

Canon Edward Jarosz

Revd Canon Dr Ian Jorysz

Revd Hilary Kemp

Revd Brian King

Revd Gareth Lane

Revd Ann Leonard

Revd Ann Lett

Janet Mellor

Revd Mgr Timothy Menezes

Darren Millar AM

Revd Patrick Morrow

Fr Jan Nowotnik

Stephen Parker

Revd Peter Powers

Revd Dr John Preston

Revd Julian Reindorp

Revd Ann Rigby-Jones

Revd Rosemary Shaw

Revd Colin Smith

Revd Eleanor Smith

Anne Strauss

Revd Canon Sally Theakston

Revd Bruce Thompson

Revd Gillian Thornhill

Revd Joanne Thorns

Revd David Woodall

CCJ Branch Chairs

The Reverend Anthony Ball, Central London CCJ

Mike Costello, Chair, Lincoln CCJ

Hilary Curwen, Secretary, Leeds CCJ

Majra Docherty, Finchley CCJ

Lisa Dowling, Bournemouth CCJ

Cynthia Drapkin, Secretary, Hillingdon CCJ

Christen Herbert, Secretary, Merseyside CCJ

Hilary Johnson, Secretary, Birmingham CCJ

Dr Ann Conway-Jones, Chair, Birmingham CCJ

Rabbi Helen Freeman, Central London CCJ

Anne Godwin, Finchley CCJ

James Leek, Chair, South West London CCJ

Kathleen de Mactige-Middleton, Vice-chair, Hillingdon CCJ

Ivor Millman, Chair, North London CCJ

Catherine Oppenheimer, Chair, Oxford CCJ

Marsha Parker, Co-Chair, Norfolk CCJ

William Rhind, Secretary, South West London CCJ

Bernhard Silverman, Chair, South East London CCJ

Elizabeth Spencer, Chair, Merseyside CCJ

Maggie Townend, Lincoln CCJ

Revd Tom Wilson, Leicester CCJ

CCJ Student Leaders and Alumni

Ross Brittain

Péter Juhász

Hannah Kaufman

Esther Sills

Other interfaith activists

Revd Dr Nicholas lo Polito

Revd Rosemary Shaw

Rabbi Roni Tabick

Canon Guy Wilkinson