The Menorah Project

“The Menorah Project provides an opportunity for Jews and Christians to come together to learn about our history, our shared values and why we must live and work together toward a world of justice and peace. At a time when religious conflict defines our lives, the light of the menorah is a source of hope and a constant reminder that the work of reconciliation and understanding must be our own.”  – Rabbi Jack Bemporad

Rabbi Bemporad and The Very Reverend Dean Kowalski, former Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Through its historic Menorah Project, the Center for Interreligious Understanding is placing Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance) Menorahs in Christian institutions throughout the United States and around the world with the goal of highlighting the extraordinary improvements in interreligious relations in the past few decades. The Menorah dedications bring together Christians, Jews and community members to share words of remembrance and to light the six candles of the Menorah that represent the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust.

The four-foot tall menorah, created by Israeli sculptor Aharon Bezalel, is a replica of the Yom Hashoah Menorah presented to Pope John Paul II on April 13, 1999 that now stands permanently at the Vatican’s North American College. Menorahs have been placed in Miami, Baltimore, Palm Beach, Seton Hall University, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C. and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan.

The Menorah Project Page at The Ollendorff Center

St. Mary’s Seminary Remembers Victims Of The Holocaust (The Catholic Review)

Menorah To Help Bring Catholics, Jews Together (Baltimore Sun)

Catholic Diocese of Dallas Accepts Menorah In Honor Of Shoah (Dallas Jewish Week)

Lamp An Interfaith Symbol (Miami Sun-Sentinel)

Jewish Group Presents Candelabra To Catholic Cardinal In Interfaith Gesture (Jerusalem Post)

Holocaust Menorah Dedicated At St. Paul Seminary