Head of Anglican Church travels to Israel to meet with Chief Rabbinate

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Archbishop of Canterbury was expected to meet Israel's chief rabbis Wednesday in Jerusalem, the second in what the religious leaders hope will be annual discussions. The session is part of formal dialogue between the leaders - the head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Rowan Williams, and chief rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yonah Metzger - who last year decided to convene in alternate years in Lambeth, England and Jerusalem. The meetings - plus the creation of the Anglican-Jewish Commission, which includes religious leaders and academics from both religions - are meant to foster mutual understanding and trust between the religions. At their first meeting last year, the leaders focused on peace in the Middle East, particularly in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The commission discussed the sanctity of life in their meeting in July, declaring suicide and homicide in the name of religion blasphemous.