The Australian Council of Christians and Jews (ACCJ) seeks to deepen mutual understanding that respects the distinctiveness and integrity of Judaism and Christianity as we learn from and enrich each other, while advocating for tolerance and respect in Australia.
All mainstream Christian churches and Jewish religious groupings in Australia have long been actively and publicly associated with the ACCJ, which also maintains a warm fraternal relationship with Councils of Christians and Jews in New Zealand.
The ACCJ was founded on 17 December 1991 by the New South Wales Council of Christians and Jews and the Victorian Council of Christians and Jews to meet the requirement of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ), based in Martin Buber House, Heppenheim, Germany, for bodies affiliated with ICCJ to be national organisations.
The ACCJ’s Patrons are: Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple AO, Rev Dr Peter Carnley AO, Rabbi Dr John Levi AM and Mrs Jeanne Pratt AC.
The ACCJ’s Chair, Dr Ron Hoenig, an Adelaide academic, represents the Jewish community. The Deputy Chair, Rev Jenny Chalmers, a New Zealand Anglican priest, represents the Christian community. The ACCJ’s executive committee is composed of representatives from the Councils of Christians and Jews around Australia and the ACT Christian – Jewish dialogue.
Images in the montage above: (clockwise from top left) Jews praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem; an Orthodox Christian ceremony; Jewish Chanukah candles; ‘The Last Supper’, a painting by Murawari man, Bruce Shillingsworth Snr (about Bruce: click here).