Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Rav Kalman Meir Bar, took part Monday in the 15th Conference of Religious Leaders in Israel, held in Nazareth, where senior figures from multiple faiths gathered to discuss shared challenges, promote unity, and coordinate efforts to combat extremism and violence.

The conference, organized by the Interior Ministry and its Department for Religious Communities, was held at the Golden Crown Hotel in Nazareth and focused this year on the theme “From Polarization to Unity,” with an emphasis on strengthening social cohesion, advancing peace, and confronting evil.

During the proceedings, Rav Bar played a central role in interfaith discussions with religious leaders, focusing on the responsibility of spiritual leadership to reduce polarization in Israeli society and to foster coexistence and peace. He also participated in a dedicated working group that examined the impact of polarization on public life and explored practical ways to address it.

Addressing the gathering, Rav Bar said: “This gathering of religious leaders is important both practically and symbolically. We must use the power we have as religious leaders to promote peace and goodness in the world — not only in matters that directly affect us.”

He continued by pointing to global conflicts and humanitarian crises. “If a war in Ukraine has claimed the lives of nearly a million people, we have an obligation to speak out clearly. And if there are other places of suffering, hunger, and evil, it is our duty to raise a clear and unambiguous voice. Not only to issue statements, but also to advance initiatives, partnerships, and concrete actions to increase goodness and eradicate evil in the world.”

Rav Bar stressed that the very act of convening carried an important message. “Judaism is not an enemy of Christianity or Islam. On the contrary. Judaism is a religion of peace, especially when it comes to other faiths that believe in one God. We are all children of one Father. And precisely when there are those who try to ignite a religious war by distorting religion and using it to justify terror and the harming of innocents, we declare loudly: there is no religious war between Judaism and Islam. On the contrary. There is brotherhood and peace — and above all, a shared mission to eradicate evil, fight it, and promote goodness and peace for all who live in this land.”

Interior Ministry Director-General Israel Uzan also addressed the conference, emphasizing the influence of religious leadership. “The heads of religions and communities in Israel have a central role and significant ability to promote values of unity, tolerance, peace, and shared living. Meetings between religious leaders, based on open and respectful dialogue, are an important pillar in strengthening social cohesion and building a more united and healthy society. We will continue to reinforce this area in the Interior Ministry by advancing meetings, dialogue, and cooperation, viewing religious leaders as key partners in shared responsibility and in preserving the fabric of life in Israel.”

The conference concluded with a formal signing ceremony of a joint declaration by the religious leaders, read aloud in Hebrew, Arabic, and English, expressing a shared commitment to social unity, interfaith dialogue, and the advancement of peace.

Among the participants were Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Latin Patriarch Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the Greek Catholic Church, Druze spiritual leader and chairman of the Supreme Druze Council Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, Muslim Sharia Court of Appeals judge Dr. Iyad Zahalka, Interior Ministry Director-General Israel Uzan, Emir Mohammed Sharif, and representatives of Israel’s various religious communities.

{Matzav.com}