In an op-ed piece for the Baltimore Sun entitled "The Longest Hatred," Sara Engram described anti-Judaism as a pathology that has infected Western culture for nearly two thousand years. This communicable disorder has been spread through the work of many of our most distinguished philosophers and writers, theologians and social scientists, politicians and musicians. To underscore both the depth and breadth of the problem, the following passage from Dietrich Bonhoeffer was quoted:

The church of Christ has never lost sight of the thought that "the chosen people," who nailed the redeemer of the world to the cross, must bear the curse for its action through a long history of suffering.

The article occasioned some irate responses from scholars who believe that the use of this text betrays the theological integrity of the church's most outspoken critic of National Socialism. Bonhoeffer refused to sell his own soul or the soul of the church to Nazism. He paid for his valiant resistance with his life. The defenders of Bonhoeffer's good name argue that if the views he espoused were in any way linked to the Final Solution, the extraordinary sacrifice of this brilliant champion of the church would be cheapened.

Bonhoeffer's attitudes toward Judaism and the Jewish people will no doubt remain a subject for animated debate within and beyond the halls of the academy. The passion with which the discussion is pursued indicates that a great deal is at stake. Does the stain of anti-Judaism that bleeds through various sermons and writings lessen the significance of his martyrdom? If we judge Bonhoeffer and others for failing to transcend the biases of their era, are we not in danger of debasing the nobility of their accomplishments? What pitfalls await us and our children if we fail to judge such deficiences in others and in ourselves?

Our prejudices are usually buried deep enough to escape our notice. How can any of us uncover cultural biases that matastasize in the tissue of the groups to which we belong? Our best achievements will no doubt embody flaws that sub-sequent generations will have to overcome. In the meantime, Christians and Jews can take significant steps to inoculate themselves against these afflictions by making certain that they do their thinking in the presence of the other. Through a variety of educational projects, the ICJS is bringing Christians and Jews, men and women, blacks and whites, clergy and laity together to wrestle with their deepest beliefs. Our programs are designed to demonstrate that isolation and ignorance are no longer dispositions that any of us, most particularly our religious leaders, can afford. Withdrawal into our separate enclaves is a dangerous option in a world ever tempted by the lure of new holy wars!