Rabbi talks on Israel's relations with Vatican at Newman Center

Citing the Solomonic maxim that "good behavior precedes knowledge," Rabbi Gerald Meister explained how relations between Israel and the Vatican have improved over the past few decades in a speech at the Newman Center yesterday. Meister began the two-hour lecture by discussing the Second Vatican Council, which laid the groundwork for a warming of relations between Catholics and Jews in 1965. He said that although he looks forward to the time when the Vatican and Israel exchange ambassadors, the technical issue of formal ties between the two are not nearly as significant as general good relations between Catholics and Jews. Meister then said the only way for anybody to understand why formal relations have not been established is "to memorize Alice In Wonderland." "One must know 'Jabberwocky' with all its madness, mayhem and hysteria," he said. "[A solution] must depend on us as believers and not upon diplomats." Meister concluded his speech on an optimistic note, pointing out that less than 50 years after the Holocaust, Israel has an embassy in Germany and Germany has an embassy in Israel. "All is possible in God's economy," he said. "As much progress [has been made in Christian-Jewish relations] in the past 30 years as had been made in the past 2000." Many of the about 20 people at the speech said they thought the speech was interesting, but some disagreed with many of the things Meister said. "[The speech] was informative and thought provoking," said Drexel graduate student Tricia Link. "It gave me something to think about." "I thought it was wonderful," said Regina Cummings, who graduated from the University in 1988. "I loved his emphasis on civility and civil disagreement. At a time when a lot of discussions at the University have become heated and volatile, the rabbi's emphasis on civil disagreement and mutual respect is extremely important. That's something we really need to pay attention to."