Rabbi David Fox Sandmel awarded CCJR's Shevet Achim Award
October 25, 2026
At its annual conference on October 25-26, 2026, the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations awarded its eighteenth Shevet Achim Award to Rabbi Dr. David Fox Sandmel. CCJR Chair, Prof. Adam Gregerman, led off the ceremony and introduced two previous honorees, Dr. Celia Deutsch and Dr. Philip Cunningham, who presented testimonials about Rabbi Sandmel.
David Fox Sandmel was ordained a rabbi in 1983 at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion and before long was representing the Reform Movement in many venues. He went on to earn a Ph.D. from the Univ. of Pennsylvania in 2001 for his studies in the History and Literature of Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman World. From 1998 to 2001 he was the Judaic Scholar at what was then the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies in Baltimore, today, the Institute for Christian, Jewish, Muslim Studies. There he directed the National Jewish Scholars Project and coordinated the publication of the groundbreaking text issued in 2000, “Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity.” He served as the co-editor of the companion volume, Christianity in Jewish Terms (also published in 2000) and as lead editor of Irreconcilable Differences? A Learning Resource for Jews and Christians (published in 2001), a popular-level study and discussion guide into core theological contrasts between Judaism and Christianity.
From the IJCS, Rabbi Sandmel went on to hold the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago from 2001-2014. From 2014-2022 he was Senior Advisor on Interreligious Affairs for the ADL and currently serves as president of the International Council of Christians and Jews. Rabbi Sandmel is also chair emeritus of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (“IJCIC”), the consortium of Jewish organizations that is the official Jewish dialogue partner of the Vatican, the World Council of Churches, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox churches.
Congratulations, Rabbi Sandmel, and thank you for your hard work and years of dedication to Christian-Jewish relations!
