New Leaders to Represent World Jewry to Other Faiths

NEW YORK (Map) - NEW YORK, July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IJCIC, (The International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation) the consortium charged with representing world Jewry in its relationships with other faiths, announced the election of new officers. IJCIC which is comprised of the three major religious streams and major secular organizations has existed for over 40 years. It is widely recognized as the spokesgroup and representative body for dealings with other world religious bodies.

Rabbi Richard Marker has been elected as Chair of IJCIC after serving for two years as vice chair. Professor

Marker, who succeeds Rabbi David Rosen as chair, is a principal of Marker Goldsmith Philanthropy Advisors, Senor Fellow at NYU's Academy for Grantmaking and Funder Education, and an internationally known lecturer and writer about philanthropy. He has had a long career both in and outside the Jewish community, including serving as the first Jewish university employed chaplain in the Ivy League, as International Vice President of Hillel, as Executive Vice President of the now defunct Bronfman [Seagram] Foundation, as a professor, and as a management consultant. Over the past 41 years he has been active in inter-faith affairs on the local, national and now international level. Among his other current leadership roles, he also serves as co-chair of the Board of World Religious Leaders.

Marker says that "Interreligious activity is as important as at any time in the past, and it has expanded. Our work now includes not only European- and American-based Christian groups, but appropriate Muslim ones, and numerous Eastern religious traditions as well. It is a challenging time to fulfill our mandate." Marker adds that all Jews can be proud of how IJCIC provides a united and thoughtful voice for the community. "Our 40-year pluralist experience positions us well to assume our role on a more complex world scene." Marker is a delegate of the Rabbinical Assembly to the IJCIC Board.

Schiffman, who serves as Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies and chair of the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University is an internationally known scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Judaism. His writings have helped to redefine our understanding of the Jewish background of Christianity. In both academic and religious contexts, he has been active throughout his career in interfaith relations. He is a member of the international team that published the entire corpus of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He has served as visiting professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He serves IJCIC as a delegate of the Orthodox Union.

Betty Ehrenberg is the Executive Director of the World Jewish Congress- United States and North America. She has held many positions in Jewish communal organizations and has worked with many diverse organizations on international issues such as the United Nations, the Middle East, and anti-Semitism, as well as on interfaith, community and government relations. In her past positions as Executive Director and Director of International and Communal Affairs of the Institute for Public Affairs of the Orthodox Union, she served as a liaison to other religious groups and as a delegate to IJCIC. She also has an extensive background in Jewish education and speaks to many international groups on a wide variety of issues. She is a delegate of the World Jewish Congress. She succeeds Seymour Reich, Esq., as Treasurer.

IJCIC was initially created to represent the world Jewish community to the Vatican. In the years since then, its mandate and involvements have expanded. IJCIC now cultivates ongoing connections to the religious leadership of numerous world religious bodies, addressing interreligious concerns and joining other faiths in addressing moral and ethical issues of common concern.

SOURCE IJCIC - International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations