July 1, 2015 — Jerusalem, Israel
AJC has made a donation to the Elijah Interfaith Institute to help restore the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.
“The arson attack on the Church of the Multiplication was a despicable act, contravening Israel’s values of democracy and religious freedom, “said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs.“AJC is proud to be part of this initiative that has been supported by the Speaker of the Knesset and dozens of prominent rabbis in Israel, demonstrating Jewish commitment to religious pluralism and respect between faiths."
Christians believe the Church of the Multiplication, located at Tabgha, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, is the site of Jesus’s miracle of multiplying two fish and five loaves to feed 5,000 people. Graffiti in Hebrew, “The false gods will be eliminated,” was scrawled on a building adjacent to the church.
