Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

Mixing Apples and oranges (or pomegranates). Readers may think I have been doing just that in these reflections on Advent and Chanukkah. Jews and Christians have distinct faiths and teachings. I firmly believe in ecumenical dialogue. Dialogue, to reach an understanding, not a theological compromise of beliefs. As Trevor Harford, a Christian Bible and Rabbinic scholar, writes: “Judaism and Christianity can never blend without the surrender by one or the other of its fundamental principles.” [i] I concur with this opinion. We can neither level the differences nor attempt to. Moreover, there would be no Church without the Temple.

Jewish-Catholic dialogue has made tremendous strides since the publication of Nostra Aetate on 28 October 1965.[ii]   Pope Leo XIV has been firm in his statement that “the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism.”  He further states, “We cannot deny that there have been misunderstandings, difficulties, and conflicts” in the sixty years since the publication of Nostra aetate, “but these have never prevented the dialogue from continuing.”[iii]

Genuine dialogue occurs when there is mutual respect, a desire for justice, and a commitment to peace. A willingness to listen. As I write this, I am reminded of an interfaith conference I attended. Years ago, leaders of the Jewish community invited me to an ecumenical meeting. I was seated with members of the Jewish delegation. The first session was a rambling soliloquy by a Christian clergyman about his faith and his and Jesus’ love for Jews. During a session break, the president of the Jewish community asked me, “Why do they (Christians) always start with Jesus?” I responded, “Because they don’t know the Torah.” A few of us saw no point in continuing to participate in the one-sided “discussion”.

The dialogue between Jewish and Christian leaders is strained in the Trumpian Age. Too few Christian leaders have said “enough is enough” to the inhumanity of this presidential administration. Anti-Semitism has surged in the United States, particularly among young people, be they on the left or the right of the political spectrum. Extremism is undermining the social contract.

Vice-President J.D. Vance, “while saying he opposes antisemitism, has downplayed expressions of anti-Semitic sentiment by young Republicans as immaturity.”[iv] The vice-president (nor the president, for that matter) has neither condemned Tucker Carlson nor Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and others who spew hatred contrary to Church teachings. The White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, called Vance a “conspiracy theorist.” [v] Vance and others ignore the prevalence of anti-Semitism throughout American history when he says, “the single most significant thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism is reducing immigration to the United States.” One can neither write off anti-Semitism as an immigration problem nor denigrate the human rights of immigrants.

At this time of Advent and Chanukkah, when both Jewish and Christian ethics are under attack and being undermined, I have to ask those in leadership who are silent or articulate Trumpian rhetoric and support, particularly the Christian nationalists, What is the relevance of God if you cannot respect the faith commitment of others, their traditions, be sensitive to their fears, sufferings, and desire for peace?

There is no easy path to salvation. We live in a period of self-indulgence, justifying bigotry, hatred, and fear in the name of God for political gain. There is a silence from too many pulpits on the issue of anti-Semitism. There is too much shallow and empty rhetoric on the issue of hate and bigotry.

The Jewish theologian and philosopher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes:

“’I will write it upon their hearts.’ Moses wrote the words of the covenant upon their ‘tables of stone’ (Exodus 34:1); now God will write the covenant upon the hearts. The heart is the person. What the prophets seem to predict is not abolition of the Torah but inner identification with it.”[vi]

In the Trumpian Age, we, both Jews and Christians, are being deceived by unprincipled men and women. The voices of the prophets go unheeded. There is a need within Judaism for renewed vigilance and commitment to the challenge of Torah. Christians need a renewed attentiveness and obligation to the Gospels. There is a need within Judaism and Christianity for a re-examination and renewal of the heart.

The candle lights of the Menorah and Advent wreaths will glow for a few more days. The darkness of moral and political depersonalization, false and idolatrous thinking, will continue. Now, we must be the lights against the darkness. Our interfaith dialogue must reach more deeply into the hearts of those in the pews, and shine for humanity. We have seen the darkness. We must not give in to the night.

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[i] Jewish Studies in Memory of Israel Abrahams, by the Faculty and Visiting Teachers of the Jewish Institute of Religion, 1927, 220.

[ii] Declaration On The Relation Of The Church To Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate. https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5410

[iii] “Pope at Audience: ‘the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism’”, Vatican News October 29, 2025 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-10/nostra-aetate-interreligious-dialogue-general-audience.html

[iv] “JD Vance: Stopping immigration is the best way to curb antisemitism in the US,” “Jewish News Telegraph, December 16, 2025.

[v] “Trump’s Top Aide Acknowledges ‘Score Settling Behind Prosecutions’”, The New York Times December 16, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/us/politics/trump-susie-wiles.html

[vi] “Protestant Renewal: A Jewish View,” The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence,” Schoken Press, 1972, 174.

© 2025 Charles van Heck