JTS to Host Interfaith Evening of Music and Prayer

Contact: Beth Mayerowitz, bemayerowitz@jtsa.edu

On June 20 at 7:30 p.m., The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) will host a unique gathering of clergy, vocalists, and musicians from the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions. “Songs for the Holy City: An Interfaith Evening of Music and Prayer” will feature Rabbi Tamar Elad Appelbaum, spiritual leader of Kehillat Zion, Jerusalem; Imam Abdullah Antepli, chief representative of Muslim Affairs and adjunct faculty of Islamic Studies, Duke University; and Ara Dinkjian, world-renowned oud master and liturgical musician in the Armenian Apostolic Church. They will be joined by kanun player Hasan Isakkut and vocalists Onnik Dinkjian, Rabbi Roly Matalon, and Ms. Shelley Thomas for an evening of song and prayer for the peace and future of Jerusalem/Yerushalayim/Al Quds.

The event is co-sponsored by the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome) and the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at The Jewish Theological Seminary (New York) with the help of the Russell Berrie Foundation.

“We are honored to bring together a talented and diverse group of clergy, vocalists, and musicians to celebrate the Holy City of Jerusalem,” said Arnold M. Eisen, chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. “We hope that this event sets the stage for future collaboration and interfaith initiatives.”

This program will also be live streamed at no charge at www.jtsa.edu/live.

About The Jewish Theological Seminary

JTS is a preeminent institution of Jewish higher education, training thoughtful, innovative leaders—rabbis, cantors, educators, lay leaders, and scholars—who strengthen our communities with a vision of Judaism that is deeply grounded in the Jewish past and thoroughly engaged with contemporary society. JTS also provides high-caliber lifelong learning and professional development to our alumni, adult learners, and Jewish communities throughout North America. Through its Library, JTS preserves and makes accessible to students and scholars throughout the world the greatest collection of Judaica in the Western Hemisphere.