The churches, above all the Catholic and Protestant churches, have undergone a drastic change in their attitude towards Judaism in recent decades. Anti-Semitism was declared a sin and the mission to the Jews was banned. With the declaration "Nostra aetate" of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the attitude of the Catholic Church towards Judaism in particular was fundamentally changed. In the spirit of this declaration, in 1956 Prof Dr Kurt Schubert founded the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation which brought together representatives of various Christian denominations and Jewish communities. The coordinating committee, organised as an association, is active at various levels, particularly in the areas of education and dialogue. The local committee in Innsbruck, which is headed by Prof. em. Dr Roman Siebenrock, meets several times a year to discuss current issues and prepare for the annual "Day of Judaism" in Innsbruck.

Since the year 2000, on the initiative of the World Council of Churches in Austria on 17 January, the day before the „Day of Ecumenism“, the „Day of Judaism“ is being celebrated. The declaration of the Ecumenical Council states, among other things: „The motto for the „Day of Judaism“ is provided by the Apostle Paul: „It is not you who bear the root, but the root who bears you“ he admonishes in the 11th chapter of the Letter to the Romans... For centuries, the theological contempt for Judaism and the subsequent social devaluation of its believers created the breeding ground on which the racist ideas of anti-Semitism could grow. It is only since the catastrophe of the Shoah that all churches have begun to rethink their attitude towards Judaism. Since then, we have become increasingly aware of the guilt that the churches and their representatives have brought upon themselves. We are on the way to rediscovering the spiritual and theological richness of Israel as the foundation of our own faith. The "Day of Judaism“ in our churches, which we want to celebrate every year in future, should also be a contribution to this.“
In Innsbruck, the Day of Judaism is regularly celebrated (one day before or after Shabbat) in the Haus der Begegnung in the form of a public guest lecture on a Jewish topic followed by a discussion and get-together over a glass of wine. Various initiatives are also organised in Vorarlberg on this day.

Link to the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation

The aim of the working group „Religions for peace“ is to recognise problems in religious-social hotspots at an early stage and to become capable of acting together.

The religious communities in Vorarlberg are invited. These are currently: representatives of Islam, the Protestant, Orthodox and Old Catholic churches, Judaism, Buddhism and the Bahai community. For Judaism, Mrs Susanna Erdei was sent as the official representative of the IKG for Tyrol and Vorarlberg. The platform is headed by Dr Katharina Weiss from the Catholic Church in Vorarlberg.

The platform meets regularly to exchange ideas and take initiatives for peace. For example, on 21 September 2025, the International Day of Peace, which was launched by the UN in 1981, a multi-faith prayer for peace was held on the market square in Dornbirn. In December 2024, the new hospital was opened in Feldkirch LKH. interreligious prayer room which our representative Susanna Erdei was involved in planning. The Peace Platform of the Religions of Vorarlberg, and thus the representative of the IKG for Tyrol and Vorarlberg, is also present with a prayer for peace at the annual public handover of the Peace Light at the ORF Vorarlberg regional broadcasting centre in Dornbirn shortly before Christmas.

The founding of the multi-religious platform is due to an initiative of the city of Innsbruck. As part of the preparations for the 2011 Young Citizens„ Celebration, the city government invited all recognised religious communities represented in Innsbruck to develop a multi-religious celebration for this occasion. For the first time in Innsbruck, representatives of the various Christian churches, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism organised the joint “Prayer for Peace„. As a result, a friendly cooperation and an interested dialogue developed between the religious representatives. The desire to continue working together and to learn more about each other gave rise to the "Multi-religious platform Innsbruck“, or MRPI for short, which is organised as an association and whose membership has since grown. It is currently headed by Dr Martina Loth, the specialist for interreligious and intercultural dialogue at the Haus der Begegnung. Dietmar Shimon Gstrein was delegated to the platform on behalf of the IKG for Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

The tasks include regular meetings to discuss current issues, participation in multi-faith dedications, representation of common concerns and, in particular, preparation of the "Long Night of Religions" on the day of the "Long Night of the Churches", which is held regularly throughout Austria as an open, interfaith dialogue space with musical and culinary accompaniment in the Protestant parish of Innsbruck (Church of the Resurrection).

Link to the Innsbruck multi-religious platform