Rabbi Marc Saperstein, a former Washington University professor, will return to St. Louis to discuss Christian-Jewish relations during the university’s 2011 Adam Cherrick Lecture.

Saperstein is principal of the Rabbi Leo Baeck College in London, and was the inaugural holder of the Gloria M. Goldstein Professorship of Jewish History and Thought and former Chair of the Program in Near Eastern Studies at Washington University, Jordan and Lorraine Cherrick of St. Louis established the Adam Cherrick Fund in memory of their son in 1989, with the purpose of “advancing Jewish Studies at Washington University.” Since its inception, the Adam Cherrick Fund has benefited the university community and St. Louis at large by bringing world-renowned scholars to speak on campus, beginning in 1993, when Hayim Soloveitchik of Yeshiva University launched the series.

In addition to Washington University, Saperstein has taught at the Harvard Divinity School, and served as the Charles E. Smith Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Program in Jewish Studies at George Washington University. He has published several acclaimed books including “Moments of Crisis in Jewish-Christian Relations.”

Tell us about the Leo Baeck College in London. Was the school founded by Rabbi Baeck?

Leo Baeck College was established in 1956, not by Leo Baeck himself but by a group of younger German liberal rabbis, many of them Baeck’s students, who reached England as refugees in the late 1930s. Their purpose was to reestablish the tradition represented by the Hochshule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in a new European environment. Baeck died a few months after the first classes began, and the college was renamed in his honor.

The 17 current rabbinical students in our five-year fulltime program represent 10 different countries. They are on the whole older than the average Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion students. In addition to the rabbinical program, there is a Department of Jewish Education, which fosters teaching in synagogue religion schools and day schools, involving hundreds of teachers and pupils.

You have written several books, among them “Moments of Crisis in Jewish-Christian Relations.” Do you think we are living through such a moment? Specifically there has been the re-introduction of the Latin Mass, some “walking back” on aspects of Vatican II, including Nostra Aetate. Have things improved or deteriorated since the accession of Pope Benedict XVI?

I don’t believe that this is a “Moment of Crisis” in Jewish-Christian relations. To take your example, authorization for a small traditionalist Catholic group to use an older version of the Good Friday liturgy is comparable to the Art Scroll Siddur re-introducing “For they [the non-Jews] bow down to vanity and emptiness” into the Aleynu. Perhaps we should worry less about what a few Christians are praying, and more about the content and sincerity of our own prayers.

Pope Benedict XVI has had more than his share of awkward or insensitive moments, but nothing to suggest a reversion “Back to the Ice Age,” as a European rabbi recently put it. Most of the breakthroughs of Vatican II and subsequent documents still hold. Relations on the ground between local synagogues and churches are significantly better than before Vatican II. At the same time, we should recognize that fostering good Jewish-Christian relations is only one of the priorities for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and we should not expect that it be among the very highest.

There has been a recent spate of extreme violence against ancient Christian communities in Iraq, Iran, the Coptic Christians in Egypt, etc. How do you assess the degree and effectiveness, or lack thereof, of Jewish and Christian responses?

It seems unlikely to me that Jewish statements condemning the perpetrators or the respective governments will have any effectiveness; nevertheless, we should express our deep sorrow and support for the endangered Christian communities.

How has the nature and conduct of Jewish-Christian “dialogue” changed over the past two decades?

Dialogue has flourished by spreading beyond the professional organizations and religious leaders to communities and congregations. The issue of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians has been a challenge at times, such as the Second Lebanon War of 2006 and the Gaza campaign of 2008-2009. On the other hand, an ironic by-product of the growing number of intermarriages-with all the problems this raises for Jewish demography and continuity-is that a high percentage of Jewish families and a significant number of Christian families include members of a different faith community. The result is often greater communication and appreciation of the other.

For the past several years, mainstream Protestant groups have adopted resolutions calling for divestment of doing business with firms with ties to Israel. Meanwhile, more conservative Evangelical Christians have become more pro-Israel. What do you make of these developments and trends?

This is a phenomenon I noted in “Moments of Crisis” back in 1989. At times when Israel seems increasingly beleaguered and embattled, the political support of the massive Evangelical communities and their “pilgrimage” visits by their members to the Holy Land are strongly appreciated by Israeli governments. The problem is not so much the theological basis for this support, but rather the tendency to endorse and promote right-wing Israeli policies opposed to the kind of territorial compromise necessary for a peace agreement.

Mainstream and liberal Protestant denominations share a progressive domestic liberal agenda with many American Jews, but their antagonistic fixation on flaws in Israeli policy and behaviour seems unjustified to many of us. This is especially true of divestment and boycott programs that have the effect of undermining or delegitimizing Israel; these are indeed a new development. It is crucial to continue talking to all Christian groups, communicating our own ambivalence toward specific Israeli policies, yet insisting on unwavering commitment to the existence and flourishing within secure borders of Israel as a democratic Jewish State.

Has Israel lost the battle for the “hearts and minds” of our young people, and of faculty majorities at major U.S. and British universities? Are there activities pushing back against such anti-Israel resolutions and actions?

There certainly has been an increase in blatantly hostile discourse about Israel within student bodies and among faculty members of British universities. In many such universities, Jewish students feel increasingly embattled, partly because Islamic student bodies have become more militant, inviting militantly anti-Israel speakers, and partly because of vehemently anti-Israel faculty, encouraging academic and economic boycotts. Jewish Student bodies are indeed trying to push back, but it is significantly more challenging for them than a generation ago.

Coming back to St. Louis, do you have any particular memories you’d like to share?

One of nicest memories of my 11 years at Washington University is of the wonderfully respectful working relationship between Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies faculty in our interdisciplinary program. This was at a time when many departments and programs in other universities were highly politicized, with little cooperation or dialogue. I understand that the current Wash. U Program in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies continues this fine tradition, with all students required to take both an introductory course and one additional course on the civilization of the other, in addition to their own specialization. This is a fine model worthy of emulation.

2011 Adam Cherrick Lecture

When: 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 13

Where: Busch Hall, Room 100, Washington University’s main Danforth Campus

How much: Free and open to the public

More info: 314-935-5368; Kosher reception to follow.