Conference of European Rabbis Annual Review 2017-2018 (5777-5778) 3 www.rabbiscer.org Our Philosophy We Believe.... Mission Statement.... –  in the eternal validity of the Divine Law as revealed in our sacred scriptures and as authentically interpreted in all ages by the Rabbis, acknowledging the authority of the Written and Oral Law; –  that Halacha forms the basis of Jewish life; –  that the restoration of the Jewish State in the Holy Land is a manifestation of Divine mercy towards the Jewish people and Israel’s well-being is coupled with its moral and religious strength; The 1.7 million Jews living in Greater Europe today struggle with weakening communal structures, internal division, assimilation and apathy, and the inability to cope with the myriad of challenges of securing a better future for the Jewish Europe of tomorrow. The CER was founded in 1956, to re-establish the spiritual greatness of European Jewry by strengthening the bond –  that the religious attachment is the sole enduring link between the Jews of Israel and the Diaspora and that Israel is destined to become the source of religious inspiration to the Jewish people and the world at large; –  that all relations and dealings between nations must be governed by ethical and religious principles, without which human happiness cannot be secured; –  that advances in science and technology may become a menace to mankind unless they are used with due regard for ethical and religious principles, in the dissemination of which the Jewish people, as the bearer of the message of the Prophets, have a special role to play. between the G-d of Israel and the Jewish People. We, who unite the custodians of our tradition – the rabbis of the Jewish communities of Europe, seek to strengthen our individual and collective voices and mission, the transmission of the tradition of our fathers to the next generation of Jewish Europeans, defend our religious rights and extend our hand to all who share the concern of safeguarding the Jewish heritage in Europe. We call on all spiritual leaders of Europe who believe in the basic tenets of the Jewish faith to join us in representing the interests of Judaism and the Jewish communities of Europe to the European institutions, and to the governments of Europe. The CER, one of the first Jewish European organisations, was founded in 1956 to re-establish the spiritual greatness of European Jewry by strengthening the bond between the G-d of Israel and the Jewish People.