In September 2000, The New York Times carried a full-page statement titled Dabru Emet—Hebrew for “Speak Truth.” Signed by more than 170 Jewish scholars and rabbis, it offered a bold Jewish reflection on Christianity, starting with its opening claim: “Jews and Christians worship the same God.”
The document emerged from years of deliberation convened here in Baltimore by what was then the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies (and is now the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies). Through the National Jewish Scholars Project, ICJS created an intellectual and relational space where Jewish thinkers from across denominations could respond to dramatic changes in Christian theology after the Holocaust. The result was Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity—a milestone in Jewish-Christian relations that continues to shape interreligious dialogue today.
After the Holocaust: A New Relationship
Following the devastation of World War II, Christian churches began to reassess their teachings about Jews and Judaism. The Roman Catholic Church’s Nostra Aetate (1965), a document of Vatican II, renounced the charge of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus’ death and affirmed God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people. Many Protestant denominations issued similar statements of repentance and renewal. By the 1990s, the landscape of Christian theology toward Judaism had been transformed—yet there was no corresponding Jewish reflection.
Recognizing this moment, ICJS invited Jewish scholars to consider what Judaism might now say about Christianity. Their task was not apologetic but dialogical: to articulate a Jewish response that acknowledged Christian transformation without erasing enduring theological differences.
ICJS as Convener and Catalyst
ICJS’ contribution went beyond hosting meetings. It provided what participants later described as an intellectual sanctuary—a forum where Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox voices could engage one another with honesty and respect. Out of these conversations, four authors—David Novak, Peter Ochs, Michael Signer, and Tikva Frymer-Kensky—crafted the text of Dabru Emet, which was signed by nearly 170 Jewish scholars and rabbis.
The statement affirmed shared worship of the one God, the moral authority of Torah, and a joint responsibility to pursue justice and peace. It also acknowledged deep, irreconcilable theological differences, insisting that mutual respect need not require agreement.
A Catalyst for Dialogue—and Debate
Reaction to Dabru Emet was swift and passionate. Many Christians welcomed it as a historic recognition of their efforts to reform; some Jewish critics feared it overstated Christian progress or minimized historical wounds. Yet the conversation it provoked was precisely its point. As Shira L. Lander, Ph.D., the inaugural Jewish Scholar at ICJS, has observed, Dabru Emet both built bridges between Jews and Christians, challenging each community to see itself anew through the eyes of the other. and revealed rifts within the Jewish community itself.
“Much of the controversy [over Dabru Emet] fell along denominational lines, with Orthodox Jews demurring and the liberal movements assenting,” she wrote.
An Enduring Legacy
The phrase dabru emet comes from Zechariah 8:16: “Speak the truth to one another; render true and perfect justice in your gates.” It is both an ethical imperative and a communal aspiration. For ICJS, the enduring lesson of Dabru Emet is that speaking truth across religious lines is itself an act of justice—a way of repairing the world we share.
Dabru Emet remains a defining moment in ICJS’ history—a testament to the Institute’s role as a convener of courageous, honest, and hopeful interreligious conversation. As we mark its 25th anniversary, ICJS continues that work, as we engage Jewish, Christian and Muslim partners to engage in reflection and dialogue, as we strive to strengthen the foundations of a multireligious democracy.
Read more reflections on Dabru Emet, published in 2021 on the 20th anniversary.