New Leaders to Represent World Jewry to Other Faiths

NEW YORK, July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IJCIC, (The International Jewish
Committee for Interreligious Consultation) the consortium charged with
representing world Jewry in its relationships with other faiths, announced the
election of new officers. IJCIC which is comprised of the three major
religious streams and major secular organizations has existed for over 40
years. It is widely recognized as the spokesgroup and representative body for
dealings with other world religious bodies.

Rabbi Richard Marker has been elected as Chair of IJCIC after serving for two
years as vice chair. Professor Lawrence Schiffman who will assume the role of
Vice Chair, and Betty Ehrenberg, who will serve as Treasurer, join him.

Marker, who succeeds Rabbi David Rosen as chair, is a principal of Marker
Goldsmith Philanthropy Advisors, Senor Fellow at NYU's Academy for Grantmaking
and Funder Education, and an internationally known lecturer and writer about
philanthropy. He has had a long career both in and outside the Jewish
community, including serving as the first Jewish university employed chaplain
in the Ivy League, as International Vice President of Hillel, as Executive
Vice President of the now defunct Bronfman [Seagram] Foundation, as a
professor, and as a management consultant. Over the past 41 years he has been
active in inter-faith affairs on the local, national and now international
level. Among his other current leadership roles, he also serves as co-chair
of the Board of World Religious Leaders.

Marker says that "Interreligious activity is as important as at any time in
the past, and it has expanded. Our work now includes not only European- and
American-based Christian groups, but appropriate Muslim ones, and numerous
Eastern religious traditions as well. It is a challenging time to fulfill our
mandate." Marker adds that all Jews can be proud of how IJCIC provides a
united and thoughtful voice for the community. "Our 40-year pluralist
experience positions us well to assume our role on a more complex world
scene." Marker is a delegate of the Rabbinical Assembly to the IJCIC Board.

Schiffman, who serves as Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies and
chair of the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York
University is an internationally known scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls and
Rabbinic Judaism. His writings have helped to redefine our understanding of
the Jewish background of Christianity. In both academic and religious
contexts, he has been active throughout his career in interfaith relations. He
is a member of the international team that published the entire corpus of the
Dead Sea Scrolls, a past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and a
Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He has served as visiting
professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Biblical
Institute in Rome. He serves IJCIC as a delegate of the Orthodox Union.

Betty Ehrenberg is the Executive Director of the World Jewish Congress- United
States and North America. She has held many positions in Jewish communal
organizations and has worked with many diverse organizations on international
issues such as the United Nations, the Middle East, and anti-Semitism, as well
as on interfaith, community and government relations. In her past positions as
Executive Director and Director of International and Communal Affairs of the
Institute for Public Affairs of the Orthodox Union, she served as a liaison to
other religious groups and as a delegate to IJCIC. She also has an extensive
background in Jewish education and speaks to many international groups on a
wide variety of issues. She is a delegate of the World Jewish Congress. She
succeeds Seymour Reich, Esq., as Treasurer.

IJCIC was initially created to represent the world Jewish community to the
Vatican. In the years since then, its mandate and involvements have expanded.
IJCIC now cultivates ongoing connections to the religious leadership of
numerous world religious bodies, addressing interreligious concerns and
joining other faiths in addressing moral and ethical issues of common concern.

SOURCE IJCIC - International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations

Richard Marker, +1-212-585-3332, marker@markergoldsmith.com, Larry Schiffman,
+1-212-998-8980, lhs1@nyu.edu, or Betty Ehrenberg, +1-212-755-5770,
behrenberg@wjcmail.org, all of The International Jewish Committee for
Interreligious Consultation