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HANNOVER, Germany -- Brig. Gen. Phillip Jolly, director of the U.S. Army Europe's Army Reserve Engagement Cell, represented U.S. Army Europe at the opening ceremony for the Week of Brotherhood at the Theater am Aegi, here, March 6.
The organization is dedicated to the reconciliation between Christians and Jews, and the ceremony culminated in the presentation of the Buber-Rosenzweig medal to Rabbi Dr. h. c. Micha Brumlik.
This year's event was highlighted by speeches given by President of Germany Joachim Gauck and Minister President Stephan Weil; as well as, the heads for the Evangelical and Jewish faiths in the State of Lower Saxony.
In attendance were also representatives from the German Federal Government and ecclesiastical bodies including: The Holy See in Rome, the Rabbinate of Israel, and Central Council of Muslims in Germany.
Although Week of Brotherhood events focus on religious understanding and reconciliation, the key note speakers drew attention to the very real and present challenges facing Europe (and the Middle East) today, including reconciling religious differences among Christians, Jews and Muslims; the Syrian civil war; and the European refugee crisis.
When asked what the biggest challenge facing Germany and Europe today was Brumlik immediately answered the European refugee crisis.
He further explained how refugee crisis has the potential to fracture the European Union, destabilize markets, degrade European security, and become a burden on Germany and to Europe as a whole.
Brumlik, a professor of philosophy and religious studies, was recognized for his decades of engagement in open dialogue, lateral thinking and impact on religious studies.
Following his statement on the European refugee crisis, Brumlik emphasized the need for tolerance, understanding and discourse of religious ideals; be the ideals Christian, Jewish or Muslim.
Week of Brotherhood events were first held in the France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1920s. The first Week of Brotherhood in Germany took place in 1952 complementing a domestic front with the new foreign policy efforts of then Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to achieve agreement with the Jewish Claims Conference in the Luxemburg Agreement.
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