Tuesday, November 06, 2007
THE ELIJAH INTERFAITH INSTITUTE, URI, AND DAVID ROSEN
Among the many activities of Rabbi David Rosen is the Elijah Interfaith Institute. The Institute website tells us:
The Elijah Interfaith Institute is a multinational organization dedicated to fostering peace between the world's diverse faith communities through interfaith dialogue, education, research and dissemination. Our unique programming generates interfaith dialogue at the highest levels, bringing together world religious leaders and renowned scholars the world over, through research projects, public conferences and community-based initiatives.
The Institute is housed under the UNESCO umbrella. A document titled UNESCO Chairs and Unitwin Networks website devotes a section to the Elijah School for the Study of the Wisdom of the World Religions, taking note of the fact that "The Second Meeting of the Board of World Religious Leaders" took place November 28-December 2, 2005 in Taiwan. (See pp. 289-290 at link.)
The members of the Board of World Religious Leaders are listed at the Elijah Interfaith Institute website. Rabbi David Rosen is on the list. Another page in the website gives the bios of the Board Members in pdf format, with the UNESCO logo at the top right corner. The top left corner depicts the Institute's logo--a wheel on fire that asks the question "Where is wosdom found"?
The Administrative Board webpage also lists Rosen as a member.
Funding for The Elijah Interfaith Institute comes from sponsors which include the Episcopal Church, USA and the Fetzer Institute, a major supporter of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy.
The Institute's Related Organizations webpage tells us that these organizations "share the Elijah Interfaith Institute's goals. Their areas of work complement those of Elijah, allowing for fruitful partnerships. It is here that you will find the United Religions Initiative under the heading "Israel Interfaith Encounter." Click the link to arrive here.
Another page in the Israel Interfaith Encounter website reports on a URI meeting and links the URI website. Most of the URI Cooperation Circles in Israel include "IEA" in their name. Click the links in the URI Cooperation Circles website and you will end up in the same IEA website that is linked on The Elijah Interfaith Institute's "Related Organizations" website. They work together.
Back on The Elijah Interfaith Institute website a number of religious leaders have signed a statement entitled "The Da Vinci Code - Truth and Method, Rights and Responsibilities in Art and Society". Among the signatories is Venerable Jinwol Lee, President of United Religions Initiative of Korea. Rabbi David Rosen also signed this statement. Among the Christians listed is Cardinal Jose Maria Mejia, Former Secretary of the College of Cardinals and Vatican Chief Librarian and Archivist, Archbishop Boutros Mouallem, Galilee Archdiocese (Catholic), and Abbot Primate Notker Wolf O.S.B., Titular head and first representative of the Benedictine Order (Catholic). There are also three Orthodox representatives.
