Articles by Noam Marans

Catholic and Jewish leadership have a precious opening to sustain and expand the six decades of the Catholic-Jewish rapprochement together. The Pope Leo pontificate has started strong, and we dare not miss this opportunity.

Thank you, Cardinal Dolan, recipient of AJC’s Isaiah Award for Exemplary Interreligious Leadership, for being the champion of that sacred cause and a dear friend of the Jewish people.

A prayer by Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious Affair

Oct. 28 marks 60 years since the Roman Catholic Church issued Nostra Aetate, the groundbreaking declaration that rejected collective Jewish responsibility in the death of Jesus.

It is no exaggeration to say that Catholic-Jewish relations have been indelibly transformed for the better since Nostra Aetate changed the course of that relationship.

If you’ve never heard of Nostra Aetate, then you have something in common with most Jews.
But it’s definitely worth a read. Although it’s just 1,174 words in the original Latin, it speaks volumes about how far relations between Jews and Catholics have come, though we are also aware of how far they have to go.

Already early on, there is reason to believe the Leo papacy will embrace more diplomatic language. Indeed, when addressing the Jewish world during the audience I attended, he said, “Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours.” That is a good thing for Catholic-Jewish relations. It should give us hope.

I vividly remember each of the many times I was fortunate enough to meet with Pope Francis. The initial meeting was in June 2013, when the pontiff welcomed a group of Jewish organizations to the Vatican — the first of many such meetings of his tenure.

It is too soon to tell whether Tisha B’Av will be elastic enough to include October 7. The horrors of the Holocaust were too vast and required their own day of remembrance. And October 7’s date on the Hebrew calendar, Simchat Torah, among the most joyous of holidays, may prove difficult as an official day of mourning for the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

How does one celebrate Passover and sing the songs of jubilation when Israel and the Jewish people feel – and actually are – so threatened? The Seder and the Haggadah (literally, the telling) tell us how to do it. Denialism is not an option, the reality is not good, yet perspective and hope (tikvah) are a must. Nowhere is this more palpable than in Israel, today’s Jewish centerpiece.

The Israeli motto of the moment is #BringThemHomeNow, translated to or from the Hebrew, “Machzirim otam ha-bye’tah akhshav.” But the Hebrew and English are not exactly the same, and the difference is instructive.
The English, perhaps a call to the world, is a demand of others: do whatever you – diverse government, civic, and faith leaders, influencers - can do to bring the hostages home. But the Hebrew is more profound – it actually means, “We are bringing them home now.”

To those who failed to see our pain, please reconsider. For most Jews, this is the most vulnerable moment of their lifetimes

This Earth Day is a true moment of opportunity. There are political and economic developments that indicate we are on the cusp of renewed world leadership in the climate crisis. We must seize the day, galvanize humanity, and hold political leaders accountable regarding reduction of carbon emissions, prevention of deforestation, and more to restrain and reverse undeniably catastrophic global warming.

Rabbi Noam E. Marans, American Jewish Committee (AJC) Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations wrote a prayer in the aftermath of the riots attacking the U.S. Capitol.

I did not know who Nick Cannon was until he said horribly hurtful things about my people. I now know that he is a very big celebrity, and enormous numbers of people listen to and respect him — that unlike some people who say hurtful things, he is not someone who can simply be dismissed. More important, there was the possibility that something good could emerge from engaging with him — and it has.

American Jewish Committee — AJC, the Jewish leader in intergroup relations for 114 years — was fortunate to represent the Jewish people in the June 14 Race Amity Day Celebration. We were asked to craft a Jewish message for all peoples in the spirit of E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One, a call that would “bring people together instead of apart during these trying times.” This is an expansion of that Jewish message, delivered on Race Amity Day.

The coronavirus, like an unwelcome and uninvited guest reminiscent of the biblical plagues of the Exodus, will force the most-observed annual Jewish ritual experience, the Seder, to be practiced very differently.

We are seeing that in the response to the deadly Coronavirus. American Jewish Committee’s #BeAMensch initiative celebrates that essential humanity, by telling the stories of menschen, good people. The tales of goodness, even greatness, inspire us.

The Oberammergau Passion Play, performed decennially in Germany’s Bavaria since 1634, was, until relatively recently, believed to be irredeemably antisemitic.

Antisemitism endangers not only Jews but the societies in which they live. Thankfully, this American society is not prepared to be passive in the face of antisemitism and other forms of hate.

Now, as American Jews, we are confronting the reality that we dreaded and feared—it could happen here. We are mourning the loss of American Jewish innocence.