Dr Edward Kessler
Director, the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths
Executive Director, CJCR and CMJR
Fellow,
St Edmund's College
Contact
Ed.Kessler@woolfinstitute.cam.ac.uk
Telephone: (44)(1223)741-834
Edward Kessler is a leading thinker in interfaith relations, primarily contemporary Judaism and Jewish-Christian as well as Jewish-Muslim Relations Relations. He is Founder and Executive Director of the Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths and Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. He is a prolific author, having written or edited 9 books, dozens of articles. He is presently contributing to the Department for Children Schools and Families Review of all materials used to teaxch world religions in English Schools.
In 2006, he was awarded the Sternberg Interfaith Award in recognition of outstanding services in furthering relations between faiths and in June 2007 The Times Higher Education Supplement described him as “probably the most prolific interfaith figure in British academia”.
Kessler’s publications include Bound by the Bible: Jews, Christians and the Sacrifice of Isaac,(http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521543134 Cambridge University Press, 2004) which was called a ‘landmark in Jewish-Christian Relations’ by the Chief Rabbi and A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations (http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521826926, Cambridge University Press, 2005) which the Archbishop of Canterbury has called “an invaluable guide to Jewish-Christian Relations”. His latest book is entitled What do Jews Believe? (http://www.granta.com/shop/product?usca_p=t&product_id=2998, Granta Publications, 2006) and has been translated into 6 languages
Forthcoming publications include An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Kessler also writes for the printed media and broadcasts regularly on radio. In 2005 he completed a charity cycle ride from Rome to Jerusalem, which was the subject of a BBC radio documentary, and a similar ride from Cairo to Jerusalem via Mount Sinai in November 2008.
Edward has been invited to deliver a number of prestigious lectures including the 1st Hugo Gryn Memorial lecture (1998), 30th Cardinal Bea Memorial Lecture (2000), both in London, the Shapiro Lecture in Chicago (2003), The Martin Buber Lecture (East Anglia University, 2004), The Bishop Grossteste Lecture (Lincoln Cathedral 2005) and the Kennedy lecture (Charlotte, North Carolina, 2008).
