Between November 6 and 10, 2024, the Araçoiaba da Serra Adventist Training Center (CTA), in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil, hosted the board meeting of the General Conference (GC) of Seventh-day Adventists aimed at promoting dialogue and friendship with Jews. Entitled “And You Will Be My Witnesses,” the event was attended by approximately 120 people who came from different countries, such as the United States, France, England, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, and Israel.

The initiative sought to promote the exchange of experiences and motivate the leadership of Adventist communities seeking to establish ties with the Jewish community in their respective regions. “The event provided a unique opportunity to get to know each other better, make decisions together, and draw up plans for the future, always seeking Jesus’ ideal of being one with Him, in the Spirit and in the mission,” says Dr. Reinaldo Siqueira, director of the Center for Jewish-Adventist Relations at the GC headquarters.

During the meeting, participants had the opportunity to visit the new headquarters of the Feodor Meyer Institute in Higienópolis, in the city of São Paulo, and to participate in the inauguration of the new temple of the Jewish-Adventist community in Curitiba, Paraná. For Rogel Tavares, the institute's director, the new location “will be a support space for cultural and educational activities, promoting greater integration between the two communities and creating an environment conducive to strengthening common values, as well as mutual understanding and respect.”

The new Curitiba temple, located near the civic center, is beginning its activities with a bold project: the establishment of a museum dedicated to the memory of the Righteous Among the Nations. This project, conceived in partnership with the city's Holocaust Museum, will tell the story of Adventist and Brazilian heroes who risked their lives to save Jews during the Nazi regime.

The Fight Against Prejudice

This initiative not only represents an important voice against growing anti-Semitism but also reaffirms the community's commitment to strengthening ties between Adventists and Jews, as voted at the Adventist Church's world headquarters, the GC:

"We need to reflect on the present reality of the Jewish people on a global level. Our friendship with each individual and community of Jewish origin should be deepened. We need to find appropriate methods of communicating with them. These methods should take into account the immeasurable contribution of these people to humanity. We need to understand them in their long history of suffering and service to the world. Many people have too limited an understanding of the real significance of these people within the historical experience of humanity. Some despise them altogether. Others even hate them. We cannot proceed in this way. On the contrary, understanding their true role in the origin of the Western world, as well as their long history of successes and failures, we should find ways to create a mutual bond according to the highest biblical and prophetic ideals for individuals, nations, and humanity as a whole" (General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, World Jewish Friendship Committee, Global Mission to MV-ADCOM, Washington DC, May 17, 1994, lines 5-17).

The original article was published on the South American Division Portuguese website.