B'nai B'rith International Director of Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels presented a menorah in memory of the Holocaust to Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, April 17, during a special meeting with interfaith leaders. Michaels bestowed the menorah on behalf of the American Jewish community.

Michaels was one of five young non-Catholic leaders to present gifts to the pope during the interfaith gathering of 200 people at the John Paul II Cultural Center. Vatican officials say the gifts represent the "path to peace in the deepest teachings of each group."  

The opportunity to present a gift to the pope held special meaning for Michaels, a grandchild of Holocaust survivors. "It was a privilege to join in welcoming the leader of the world's largest religious group – and a foremost partner of Jews in interreligious dialogue – to this country that is home to such significant Catholic and Jewish communities," Michaels said after the event. "As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, including one rescued by a very brave Catholic couple, it was moving to present the pope with a menorah in memory of the Shoah and in testimony to our living faith that is rooted in the holy city of Jerusalem." 

Michaels, along with B'nai B'rith President Moishe Smith, joined other Jewish leaders in a separate meeting with Pope Benedict in honor of Passover, which begins April 19 at sundown. "It is a testament to this pope that he met with interfaith leaders," Smith said. "B'nai B'rith has a long and strong commitment to promoting dialogue and tolerance among different religions. His meetings demonstrate how different religions can come together in a setting of mutual respect and admiration."

The pope's visit, however, also highlights the need to keep the lines of communication open. "We remain troubled by his institution of a new prayer for Jewish conversion, and by the Vatican's avoidance of Jews' serious concerns that this might be interpreted as a call for proselytizing," Michaels noted.

Smith and Michaels, along with Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin, and a BBI delegation, took part in a B'nai B'rith audience with the pope at the Vatican in December 2006. Michaels, an Orthodox Jew and product of Yeshiva University, launched B'nai B'rith's Office of Intercommunal Affairs more than a year ago. "Relations with Catholics and other Christians is a top priority of the Office of Intercommunal Affairs, and the Catholic-Jewish friendship, despite two millennia of estrangement, can serve as an answer to those using religion to foster divisiveness and violent extremism," Michaels said. 

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum provided the menorah that was presented to the pope.