Religious leaders from four continents gathered to discuss intercultural dialogue, community development, and international cooperation.
On Friday, February 13, 2026, the 3rd International Congress of Rabbis began in Puerto Rico, a meeting that brought together religious leaders and community representatives from Israel, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, India, and Kenya.
The central focus of the conference was to strengthen intercultural dialogue, community leadership development, and the partnership of international social impact networks.
The onset coincided with bringing in Shabat, in an initial meeting led by Dr. José BenjamÃn Pérez Matos, President of the Kingdom of Peace and Justice Center, along with Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, Director of the Straus-Amiel and Beren-Amiel Institute, which belong to the Ohr Torah Stone network.
The opening day was spent highlighting the importance of creating opportunities for partnership between Jewish communities from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds. The participants agreed on the need to promote educational initiatives, strengthen community identity in the diaspora, and strengthen institutional ties that transcend borders.
The congress was structured around study panels, experience-sharing sessions, and working groups aimed at analyzing contemporary challenges that religious communities face in different countries, including cultivating new generations, preserving traditions, and engaging with pluralistic social environments.
With the presence of delegates from Asia, Latin America, Oceania, and Africa, the meeting took on a global character, demonstrating the diverse realities in which Jewish community life unfolds today.
The organizers emphasized that the main objective of the congress was to establish a platform for on-going collaboration that enables the exchange of best practices, alignment of educational initiatives, and strengthening of institutional representation in different international spheres.
The 3rd International Congress of Rabbis concluded its first day with liturgical observances and informal exchanges, laying the groundwork for an agenda with an academic, community, and social approach that would continue to develop over the coming days.
