Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp’s commitment to the Earth Charter is honoured with Interfaith Gold Medallion
On 1st of November, Earth Charter Commissioner Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp was awarded with the prestigious Interfaith Gold Medallion “Peace Trough Dialogue”. The award was presented to him by the Dutch Minister of Justice, Dr. Ernst Hirsch Ballin, in the name of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ). Around 50 national and international guests attended the ceremony in the historic synagogue of Soetendorp’s liberal Jewish congregation in The Hague.
With the award, the ICCJ honours Soetendorp’s long standing commitment to promoting a culture of peace and tolerance among people of different faiths. The jury’s official award announcement explicitly recognizes his work for the Earth Charter: “This award is also given in recognition of his early promotion of understanding, through the Earth Charter, that our traditions enjoin us to give credence to our obligation to care for the health of our world so that people of all faiths and cultures can live in peace and prosperity.”
Sir Sigmund Sternberg, patron of the ICCJ and founder of the Three Faith Forum in the UK, acknowledged Soetendorp's pivotal role in the World Economic Forum’s Council of 100 Leaders for Islam-West Dialogue, where he earned a name “not just as a Rabbi, but as an international Jewish statesman”. Sir Sigmund praised Soetendorp as one of the first religious leaders to take an active concern for the environment and recalled his influence in the creation of Green Cross International, which was launched after a meeting of the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival in Moscow in 1990, at the time co-chaired by Soetendorp.
Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, member of the Executive Committee of the ICCJ then shared some personal impressions of his friendship with Soetendorp, and especially hinged on his tireless efforts of working for peace and justice born out of his personal experience of surviving the holocaust as a hidden child.
The medallion was presented to Soetendorp by Dr. Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Minister of Justice of the Netherlands. Ballin stressed Soetendorp’s high moral integrity and influence, and remembered his crucial contribution in the annual opening of the Dutch Parliament, which involves the blessing of religious leaders: “You have done a lot for the Netherlands in promoting a shared vision for justice and peace nationally and in the world.”
The last speaker to address the laureate was the major of The Hague Wim Deetman: “We in The Hague are proud that you enjoy the trust of many religions of the world.”
After receiving the medallion, Soetendorp especially thanked his father Rabbi Jacob Soetendorp, the rebuilder of Jewish life in the Netherlands after the war, and his foster parents who rescued him as a baby in Nazi-occupied Holland. “To them belongs the honour of the award”, he stressed. Soetendorp ended with expressing his full commitment to continuing his work for interfaith understanding and collaboration: “I firmly believe that together we can form a global partnership to care for the earth and one another.”
Comments
Congratulations! Thank You for your soulful efforts to lead and guide along the way.
Posted by: Arthur Honig | November 19, 2007 12:10 AM