(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
Visitors to the recent Moscow International Book Fair (September 7-12) witnessed the launching of a unique international project: the writing of a Bible by world-famous authors and artists - each one inscribing a passage in his or her native language.
Israeli author Amos Oz wrote the original Hebrew version of the famous passage from Isaiah: "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." He was followed by several of Russia's leading writers. After each finished inscribing his or her favorite passage, they added their own comments on the Bible on a separate page. Following the launching ceremony, writers and visitors from other countries also wrote passages from Isaiah, among them members of the Israeli delegation.
The newly launched Bible-writing project will now move to all of Israel's embassies, where leading writers throughout the world will inscribe biblical passages in his or her own language and add their comments on the Book of Books. The project is sponsored by the Foreign Ministry's Department for Cultural and Scientific Relations, as part of the "People of the World Inscribe the Bible" campaign already held at fairs and other international events in Europe, Asia, and South America. It is to be expanded in the coming months to North American and Africa.
Bible volumes hand-written by thousands of Bible lovers throughout the world will be brought to Israel to Bible House, established by the NGO Emek Hatanach in the Adulam region.