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June 13, 2003/Sivan 13 5763, Vol. 55, No. 42
Topics attract Christian 'pilgrims'
TOBY AXELROD
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
BERLIN - It was standing room only at the lecture on Judaism - and professor Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich was in his element.
Ehrlich, honorary president of B'nai B'rith Europe, spoke to some 70 people, almost all of them Christian, who had crowded into a lecture room at Berlin's Technical University for a mini-course on Judaism.
The course was part of the "Church Days Convention," a massive, three-day con-ference with more than 3,200 events, organized by Ger-many's Catholic and Pro-testant churches.
Starting May 28, the convention turned Berlin into a virtual holy city, with lectures, services and workshops held in churches, universities and other public forums all over town. An estimated 200,000 "pilgrims" came from across Germany.
For many, programs on Jewish topics were a prime attraction. The event, which takes place every two years in different cities, included numerous offerings on Christian-Jewish and Christian-Muslim relations, presented by top figures in Germany's Jewish cultural, political and educational scenes.
At the mini-university on Judaism, participants immersed themselves in basic Judaism, Jewish philosophy on war and peace, Jewish feminism and Mideast politics.
Many of the conference's participants "normally have little or no contact with Jews," said Iris Weiss, a member of Berlin's Jewish community who gives tours of Jewish sites in Berlin. "Here, they have the chance to get basic information from Jews about Judaism, and that's quite good."
Their motivations vary, she said. Many "recognize that they have a major deficit in their knowledge of Judaism" and want to expand their knowledge, said Weiss.
Others "are only interested in Judaism to the extent that they can 'milk' its connection to Christianity" and "some think if they understand Judaism better, they will understand how the Holocaust could have happened," she said.
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