Dozens of religious leaders in Israel gathered together on Monday at Moscow Square in Jerusalem to call for peace and an end to the fighting currently going on in Ukraine which is suffering under a Russian invasion that world leaders have called illegal. Those in attendance included His Beatitude the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Sheik Hassan Abu Galion, Rabbi David Rosen, and Muslim and Druze religious leaders.
The clerics in Jerusalem called on Patriarch Kirill to use his position as head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Israel to use his position as such to call on Russia to make peace and end the fighting.
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The event was sponsored by The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), which works to catalyze a transition to a sustainable, thriving, and spiritually-aware society through the leadership of faith communities. Based in Jerusalem, ICSD unites faith communities to promote peace and sustainability through advocacy and education.
The prominent religious leaders, representing the world’s major faith traditions represented in Jerusalem, expressed their deep concern with the war and affirmed the key role religious leaders play in promoting peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Rabbi Rasson Arousi represented the Israel Rabbinate at the event. “We recite a holy call on behalf of hundreds of millions of believers around the world to stop the killing in Ukraine,” he said. The Rabbi then quoted the Prophet Isaiah, “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore.”
Sheikh Hassan Abu Galion of Rahat said, “All leaders must choose the path of peace. Anyone who saves one soul is if that person saved the entire world.”
This interfaith gathering in Jerusalem followed the delivery of an interfaith letter to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, which called on him to speak with President Putin about making peace. The letter was signed by 150 Jerusalem and global religious leaders and clergy, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Sri Sri Ravi Sankar, Dharma Master Hsin Dao, Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric and Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem emeritus Aryeh Stern. The letter was taped to the gate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“This is a moment when religious leaders should raise the banner of peace and do everything in their power to promote it,” said Rabbi Yonatan Neril, director of The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development.
