ICCJ 2026 Conference in Hanover / Germany

Source: ICCJ

Conference Theme

When relationships are strained, rebuilding them can be challenging. Over the last few generations, through dialogue, many Jews, Christians, and Muslims have overcome difficult histories, though there have been crises and controversies along the way. Each tradition has its own vocabulary and unique approaches to the concepts of repentance, repair and reconciliation; all, however, are based on affirming the dignity of every human being. How do we prioritize the inclusive and universal aspects of our traditions over any tribalism or bias against others? One aspect of the conference will focus on these teachings.

A second dimension of the conference will be more practically oriented. Interreligious dialogue both benefited from and contributed to the deepening appreciation of the significance of repentance and repair in our shared societies. Repentance and repair have found expression in societal and political endeavors beyond the interreligious arena. For example, in Germany, the handling of the past has shaped several generations. In the United States and Australia dealing with the treatment of indigenous peoples and the descendants of the enslaved hass been controversial. Other examples may emerge from our member organizations. But the continuing conflict between Israel and its neighbors will be on all our minds: are there ways, given our different contexts, that we can promote repentance and repair in this region so central to our religious and individual self-understanding as Jews, Christians and Muslims? How can we promote repentance and repair in a time of conflict and war in our own communities and globally?

At the 2026 annual conference of the ICCJ in Hanover we look forward to dialogue about religious resources for and various concepts of repentance, repair, and reconciliation in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions.

During its three and a half days, the event will offer keynote lectures and plenary sessions on the theme as well as more than 20 interactive workshops, site visits, and excursions.

The ICCJ Executive Board, the ICCJ General Secretary and the collaboration partners together with the members of the planning committee look forward to welcoming you to Hanover, Germany!

A PDF-file with an introduction to the conference theme for Salzburg 2024 can be found here. Please share it with colleagues and friends!

Final Version – December 8, 2025 1

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – HANOVER 2026

July 12 – 15, 2026

Repentance, Repair, and Reconciliation: Religious Resources for Tumultuous Times

IN COLLABORATION WITH
Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit (DKR)

When relationships are strained, rebuilding them can be challenging. Over the last few generations, through dialogue, many Jews, Christians, and Muslims have overcome difficult histories, though there have been crises and controversies along the way. Each tradition has its own vocabulary and unique approaches to the concepts of repentance, repair and reconciliation; all, however, are based on affirming the dignity of every human being. How do we prioritize the inclusive and universal aspects of our traditions over any tribalism or bias against others? One aspect of the conference will focus on these teachings.

A second dimension of the conference will be more practically oriented. Interreligious dialogue both benefited from and contributed to the deepening appreciation of the significance of repentance and repair in our shared societies. Repentance and repair have found expression in societal and political endeavors beyond the interreligious arena. For example, in Germany, the handling of the past has shaped several generations. In the United States and Australia dealing with the treatment of indigenous peoples and the descendants of the enslaved hass been controversial. Other examples may emerge from our member organizations. But the continuing conflict between Israel and its neighbors will be on all our minds: are there ways, given our different contexts, that we can promote repentance and repair in this region so central to our religious and individual self-understanding as Jews, Christians and Muslims? How can we promote repentance and repair in a time of conflict and war in our own communities and globally?

Final Version – December 8, 2025

Further information will follow on ICCJ's website in due time. To receive new information and updates promptly by e-mail, please register for the

ICCJ-newsletter. The online-registration for participants in ICCJ's 2026 conference will open at the end of February 2026.

Call for Workshop Proposals: ICCJ Conference 2026

The ICCJ invites proposals for workshops for its 2026 international conference to be held in Hanover/Germany, July 12-15 on the topic "Repentance, Repair, and Reconciliation: Religious Resources for Tumultuous Times"

Call for Workshop Proposals

PDF-file

In addition to plenary sessions, keynote papers, and visits to local sites, the ICCJ also puts a great emphasis on the interactive workshops that occur during its annual conferences.

The ICCJ invites proposals for workshops touching on the topics of and issues related to the annual conference theme (see here). Additionally, proposals for workshops on the current state of Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue on the international or local scenes are also invited.

Proposals containing

• the workshop title and an abstract of no more than 300 words,
• the name(s) of the workshop presenter(s) + short biographical blurb(s), and
• a description of the methodology and pedagogical format of the workshop of no more than 100 words

are due by January 20, 2026 and are to be sent to the ICCJ headquarters (events@iccj.org). Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposals by February 13, 2026.

Guidelines for preparing workshop proposals:

• Workshops are expected to be interactive, involving the participants as much as possible. They are not meant to be lectures or academic papers delivered to passive audiences. They can be panel presentations, in which case having Jews and Christians (and Muslims) as discussants is preferred.
• Workshops will be in English.
• Workshop presenters are expected to respect the given time frame (90 minutes).
• If relevant and/or possible, workshop presenters are encouraged to provide handouts to participants.
• All workshop presenters are expected to cover their travel and housing and to pay conference registration fee. In special circumstances, the conference fee can be reduced or waived; please contact the ICCJ headquarters. Thank you for your understanding.

There is a limited number of workshop slots available. The conference program committee will select from the proposals it receives on the basis of their relevance to the conference theme and/or the significance of the topics proposed.

A pdf-file of the "Call for Workshop Proposals", an introduction to the conference theme included, can be found here. Please disseminate the call on your mailing lists, social media, and websites!

Further information re the conference will follow on ICCJ's website in due time. To receive new information and updates promptly by e-mail, please register for the ICCJ-newsletter.

The online-registration for participants in ICCJ's 2026 conference will open at the end of February 2026.

More

ICCJ Officers Attended Nostra Aetate Conference in Łódź, Poland

ICCJ President David F. Sandmel delivered a keynote address at a conference in Łódź, Poland entitled "After Nostra Aetate (1965-2025): Discernment and Dreams".

The one-day conference was sponsored by the Archdiocese of Łódź and the Committee of the Polish Bishops’ Conference for Dialogue with Judaism. ICCJ First Vice-President Sr. Dr. Kasia Kowalska serves on the Committee and attended the conference. The conference was well attended both by representatives of the Catholic hierarchy and the Jewish community, and it was encouraging to see a significant number of seminarians in the audience.

His Eminence Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Archbishop of Łódź, hosted the event and welcome the attendees. He then introduced Rabbi Sandmel and Bishop Etienne Vetö, auxiliary bishop of Riems, France and former director of the Cardinal Bea Center for Judaic Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to offer reflections on the conference theme. Rabbi Sandmel presented a Jewish perspective on the impact of the Nostra Aetate on interreligious relations, with a focus on the political and demographic challenges of affecting Jewish-Catholic relations today. Bishop Vetö examined some of the theological implications of Nostra Aetate for a Catholic understanding of Judaism.

Keynote address by ICCJ-President Rabbi Dr David F. Sandmel:

“The Discernment of the Past and Dreams of the Future”

The second session, “60 Years After Nostra Aetate: Why don’t we know what we do not know,” focused on studies charting knowledge of the Holocaust and awareness of antisemitism among the Polish public, with an emphasis on younger demographics. The panel was introduced by Prof. Kaja Kaźmierska (University of Łódź) and chaired by Prof. Sławomir Jacek Żurek (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin). It also included Prof. Antoni Sulek (University of Warsaw) and Prof Bożena Szaynok (University of Wroclaw).

The third session celebrated the publication of a new book, The Catholic Church of “Our Times” toward Jews and Judaism: Documents of the Holy See (1965-2015) and Commentaries (WAM Kraków, 2025). The session was chaired by Prof Jan Grosfeld (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw) and included Rev. Prof. Andrej Perzyński (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw), Rev. Prof. Miroslaw Wróbel (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin), Rev. Prof. Alfred Wierzbicki (Maria Curie Sklodowska University of Lublin), and Prof. Sławomir Jacek Żurk (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin).

To close the event, Rabbi David Szychowski and Cardinal Ryś offered meditations and the Neo-Catechumenal Choir & Orchestra performed.

The Discernment of the Past and Dreams of the Future

Łódź, Poland, October 27, 2025