Religious Ramban delegation

An Australian Christian clergy group who recently travelled to Israel on the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affair’s Council’s (AIJAC) Rambam program, has reported back on their trip at an AIJAC luncheon on describing the study tour as surpassing their expectations in exposing them to the complex realities of the Middle East.

The group was  accompanied by Rabbi Ralph Genende and included the following participants:  Rev. Colleen Arnold-Moore (Anglican), Dr. Elizabeth Boase (Uniting Church), Rev. Matt Campbell (Anglican), John Corrigan (Catholic), Matt Cutler (Church of Christ), Rev. Jarrod Davies (Baptist Uniting Church), Francis Denton (Catholic), Pastor Tim Horman (Anglican), Chaplain Tom Killingbeck (Anglican), Lucas Taylor (Uniting Church) and Hamish Mark Erskine-Fowler (Anglican).

The group praised the high quality of speakers especially Tal Becker, principal legal advisor at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke of his first hand experience in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, as well as of their moving experiences of seeing Jerusalem’s Old City, Bethlehem and Sderot, and of meeting with organisers from “Roots” an Israeli-Palestinian grassroots project that promotes co-existence.

Many in the group also expressed a desire to become more involved in local inter faith activities and thanked AIJAC for enriching their perspective on the Middle East.  This latest clergy group follows previous Christian and Muslim clergy groups that have participated in AIJAC’s Rambam study visits in recent years.