Joint celebration
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LOS ANGELES — The Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles was the venue for a reception held to celebrate the recent re-opening to students of Brigham Young University's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies.
"This is the first time that any church has been allowed to host a reception at an Israeli diplomatic facility," said Mark Paredes, the Church's director of Jewish Relations in Southern California. "The presence of many leaders from both faiths reflects the deepening ties between the Church and the local Jewish community."
The May 8 reception was sponsored by the Church's Southern California Public Affairs Council, which acknowledged the supplies and assistance received from the Jerusalem Center's BYU office, the Church's Humanitarian Services Department, and the Church's Public Affairs Department.
Speakers included Elder John C. Dalton IV, Area Seventy for Southern California; Keith Atkinson, the Church's International Director of Public Affairs West; Ehud Danoch, Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles; John Fishel, President of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles; and Jill Newell, an alumna of the Jerusalem Center.
Jewish attendees spontaneously joined in an inspiring rendition of Israel's national anthem "Hatikvah" sung by Rachel Payne, associate director of the Jewish Relations Committee, who studied opera performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Her husband JD Payne, also an Associate Director of the Jewish Relations Committee, shared emceeing duties with Brother Paredes.
Elder Dalton highlighted the long history of support and friendship between the Jewish and LDS communities, noting that "more young minds eager to study will be able to learn in the land of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the other great patriarchs and matriarchs of the Bible."
He also paid tribute to the late Jerusalem mayor and friend of the Church Teddy Kollek: "May Teddy Kollek's name and memory be blessed, and may his dream of peace be fulfilled in our lifetimes."
Brother Atkinson presented a plaque of appreciation to Consul General Danoch, who will return to Jerusalem in the fall in order to begin a new assignment.
The consul general reciprocated the warm wishes expressed by Elder Dalton and Brother Atkinson. The 38-year-old diplomat entertained the audience as he reflected on a trip to Utah three years ago when he met President Gordon B. Hinckley. "This Consulate covers seven states, including the state of Utah, so when I became the Consul General I had the pleasure of meeting President Hinckley when I traveled to Utah," he said. "I remember the president commented on the importance of my responsibilities, and then he said with a smile, 'and you're only 35."'
Appreciation was also expressed to the Church by John Fishel, the head of the organized Jewish community. "The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, representing the second-largest Jewish community in the United States, is delighted by the reopening of BYU's Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem," he said. "We appreciate the efforts of our friends in the Mormon community to build strong bridges to Israel and the Jewish people."
Having attended the Jerusalem Center in the fall of 1999, a year before it closed to students, Sister Newell said that the most important part of the BYU Jerusalem Center is not the center itself, but the city of Jerusalem that surrounds it. She spoke of her experiences at the Western Wall.
"Every time I went to the Western Wall I was touched by the people who came to worship — many that had sacrificed and traveled great distances," she said. "I realized that I needed to be as committed to loving and worshipping my Creator as I knew they were."
An example of the bridge-building opportunities provided by the reception was the acknowledgement to Elder Dalton by Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of Interfaith Affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, that he had changed his mind after originally opposing the construction of the Jerusalem Center in the mid-1980s, fearing that the Church would use it as a tool to convert Jews.
"I've watched you closely for the past two decades, and you have kept your word (not to proselytize)," Rabbi Adlerstein said. "You can't say that about too many people in today's world, but Mormons have proved that they keep their word."
