Seelisberg Conference

The Seelisberg Conference, officially the International Emergency Conference on Anti-Semitism took place at Seelisberg in Central Switzerland from July 30 through August 5, 1947. The Conference was the Second Conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ).

Its agenda included finding reasons for the anti-Semitism which existed even after World War II and developing measures to combat it.

The Conference was composed of 63 participants and 2 observers from twelve nations, comprising Jews and Christians (both Protestant and Roman Catholic, both clergy and laity). Participants were invited because they would be able to contribute to the theme of Anti-Semitism in a “substantive manner.”

The 63 participants included “presidents of national Jewish-Christian organizations,” representatives of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic German Bishops' Conference, professors from Sofia University and the University of Fribourg. Jules Isaac, the French historian of Jewish descent, was a significant protagonist at the Conference. Willard E. Goslin, from the Reformed Church tradition and active in the American educational system, presided over the Conference. He was assisted by the British Jew, Neville Laski.

The two professors from the University of Fribourg were Professor for Missiology and Comparative Religions Jean de Menasce and Professor of Systematic Theology Charles Journet.

The agenda of the Conference was as follows:

The Conference was divided into five commissions. At the end of the Conference each commission presented its final report to the entire conference for approval.

Commission III dealt with The Role of the Churches and produced the 10 Points of Seelisberg that are found in the next section. The Conference recognized that the work of Commission III was “a particularly difficult task as well as one of great historic importance” because “over the centuries, Christian anti-Judaism had established a culture of contempt against the Jews.” Commission III said that its membership of “Catholics, Protestants and Jews aimed to work with candor and cordiality.” It was the “first involvement in an ecumenical and interreligious working group” for some members of the Commission.

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