Yeshiva World News

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday afternoon 26 Iyar met with Pope Francis at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center and made the following remarks:

“We have hundreds of churches here in the Land of Israel, in Nazareth Capernaum, Korazim and we maintain each one, not one stone has been moved.

We maintain the rights of Christians in the State of Israel. To my sorrow, this is not the case in many places in the Middle East. We respect Your Holiness’s approach on religious tolerance; Israel maintains this tolerance.”

“We also hope that your call for tolerance, coexistence and an end to incitement, anti-Semitism and terrorism will be accepted by all of our neighbors. I would like to thank Your Holiness for your moving visit today to the memorial to the victims of terrorism.

“If the incitement against the State of Israel ceases, along with the terrorism, there will be no need for the means that we have undertaken, such as the security fence, which has saved lives, thousands of lives. I long for the day in which Pope Francis’ call to recognize the State of Israel, the right of the Jews to a state of their own, to live in security and peace, will be accepted by our neighbors. This will bring, if not peace on earth, then at least peace in this part of the earth.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu gave Pope Francis an original 1698 drawing of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The rare historical shows the main space of the church with the “Holy Sepulcher” in its original modest format (before it was destroyed by earthquakes and fires over the years).

The print is by well-known Dutch artist Cornelis de Bruijn who visited the country in 1698. The back of the print, which is framed in the yellow/gold-and-white Vatican colors, bears the inscription “The interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, 1698″ in Italian.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

A 70-year-old man was bitten by a large snake on HaRimon Street in Givat Yearim. The snake bit him in the yard of his home. Ichud Hatzalah reports the man was treated on the scene and then transported in an intensive care unit to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. He was conscious during transport.

Ichud Hatzalah EMT Moshe Mizrachi reports that after the man was bitten residents caught the snake and smashed its head. As evident from the photos, the snake was quite large. Neighbors reported of late there have been a number of snake bites reported in the area.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Moshe Mizrachi, News 24)

State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan is angry of the public support for former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert following the latter’s conviction on charges of accepting bribes. Nitzan slammed the celebrities and public officials who were quick to come out in support of Olmert following his conviction in the Jerusalem District Court in the Holyland real estate case.

Speaking at the opening of an Israel Bar Association conference in Eilat, Nitzan said: “There are those who rushed to the television studios and claimed that corrupt acts are almost normal. We cannot accept a situation in which when a verdict comes down in favor of a certain person, the court is praised, and when it goes against him, it draws vicious personal attacks.”

Nitzan feels the convicted person; in this case Olmert must also be condemned in social circles and not hailed for his accomplishments and good character. He reminded his audience of Olmert’s “deep-rooted corruption that continued for over a decade”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

In an embarrassing flub, the Obama administration accidentally revealed the name of the CIA’s top official in Afghanistan in an email to thousands of journalists during the president’s surprise Memorial Day weekend trip to Bagram Air Field.

The officer’s name — identified as “chief of station” in Kabul — was included by U.S. embassy staff on a list of 15 senior American officials who met with President Obama during the Saturday visit. The list was sent to a Washington Post reporter who was representing the news media, who then sent it out to the White House “press pool” list, which contains as many as 6,000 recipients.

The Associated Press is withholding the officer’s name at the request of the Obama administration, who said its publication could put his life and those of his family members in danger. A Google search appears to reveal the name of the officer’s wife and other personal details.

White House officials realized the error after the Post reporter notified them, and sent out a new list without the station chief’s name. Other major news organizations, including the Post, also agreed not to publish the officer’s name.

The reporter who distributes the pool report sends it to the White House to be checked for factual accuracy and then forwarded to the thousands of journalists on the email distribution list, so in this case the White House failed on at least two occasions to recognize that the CIA official’s name was being revealed and circulated so broadly.

The intentional disclosure of the name of a “covered” operative is a crime under the U.S. Intelligence Identities Protection Act. A former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in January after pleading guilty to disclosing to a reporter the name of an undercover agency officer.

“I doubt anyone from the White House is going to be prosecuted over this,” said Jessclyn Raddack, who represented Kiriakou. “It shows the continuing double standard over leaks.”

In 2003, Valerie Plame was exposed as a CIA operative by officials of the George W. Bush administration in an effort to discredit her husband, a former ambassador who had criticized the decision to invade Iraq. A top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the case, and sentenced to 30 months in prison, though Bush commuted the prison sentence.

Members of the CIA’s operations arm, called the National Clandestine Service, are typically given cover identities to protect both them and the sources they have recruited abroad. The station chief, who manages all CIA operations in the country, is often a senior officer whose true name is known to the host nation and other intelligence agencies. The term “station chief” is sensitive enough, however, that former officers usually are not allowed to use it in their resumes in connection with specific countries, even after their covers have been lifted.

Because the Afghanistan station chief is known to Afghan officials and lives in a heavily guarded compound, he may be able to continue in his job. In 2010, the CIA station chief in Pakistan, Jonathan Bank, was evacuated after local newspapers published his name in connection with a lawsuit, and he was threatened.

The disclosure didn’t prevent Bank from landing another sensitive job: He became chief of the Iran operations division at CIA headquarters at Langley. He was removed from that post in March after CIA officials concluded he created a hostile work environment in the division. He has since been detailed to the Pentagon’s intelligence arm.

(AP)

[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

The reception for Pope Francis in PA (Palestinian Authority) occupied Beit Lechem was a warm one and during his mass, the pontiff announced his historic invitation: “In this place where the Prince of Peace was born, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, and President Shimon Peres, to raise together with me an intense prayer to God for the gift of peace. And I offer my house in the Vatican to host you in this encounter of prayer.”

Not surprising anyone, the two accepted the invitation shortly after it was made so the three will pray for peace together in the Vatican.

Prior to announcing his invitation the pope met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and discussed the stalled negotiations between Israel and the PA. The PA leader used the opportunity to attack Israel for ousting Christian Arabs from eastern areas of Jerusalem. He failed to mention the pogroms against Christians in PA areas and attacks against Christian houses of worship and holy sites in the PA.

Some video footage of the papal visit:

Arabs march in Yerushalayim during papal visit

PM Netanyahu & Pope Francis visit memorial for victims of terrorism

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor said today that the results of the European elections and particularly the alarming surge in support for extremist parties is a clear warning sign that political elites must tackle the daily concerns of Europe’s citizens.

“The alarming successes of extremist parties in these elections is the result of the passivity of European leaders and governments to deal with real issues facing European citizens,” Kantor said.

Kantor spoke after meeting with senior Belgian politicians including Prime Minister Elie Di Rupo in the aftermath of the terror shooting at the Jewish Museum in central Brussels, which left four people dead.

“What better example is there of the lack of security, the absence of tolerance and the climate of fear in our European cities than this attack on Jews in the capital of Europe?” Kantor said.

In France, one of the six founder states of the European Union, the far-Right Front National topped the poll with more than one in four French voters giving it support. Similar strong showings were seen from other far-right groupings including Austria’s Freedom Party while clear neo-Nazi groups are about to enter the European Parliament from Greece, Hungary and Germany.

“To protect the values of our modern unified Europe we need European leaders to bolster existing legislation against hate, law enforcement agencies to strengthen enforcement and educators to teach against hate, intolerance and xenophobia to the next generation,” Kantor said.

“The European Union is supposed to be the bulwark against the rise of racism and intolerance but it has become the catalyst for the justification of its citizens to vote for extremists and racists,”

“There is insecurity and there are real concerns over national identity. The Jewish community knows very well about immigration and we know about how minorities integrate into societies. These are real concerns, as much for minority communities as for indigenous citizens. If we want to combat anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance, we must address these issues.” Kantor concluded.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

MK (Kadima) Shaul Mofaz believes the people should determine who serve as president and not just the MKs in Knesset.

Mofaz told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Sunday, 25 Iyar that he did not sign to permit any of the candidate in the presidential race to run and he would not reveal who he plans to support in the election. Mofaz added that he does not agree with the current system by which the 120 members of Knesset determine who serve as president for a seven year term. He feels the people should have the vote and not just MKs.

At present, six candidates have received the required ten MK signatures to permit running in the race. This includes Reuven Rivlin, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Meir Sheetrit, Prof. Dan Shectman, Justice Dalia Dorner and Dalia Itzik. The deadline for submitting one’s name is midnight 27 May, the eve of 27 Iyar 5774

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

China may be trying to steal trade secrets from U.S. businesses, as federal prosecutors allege. Yet for many U.S. companies, China’s vast market remains an irresistible source of business.

The Justice Department’s indictment last week of five Chinese military officials accused them of trying to pilfer confidential information from American companies. But even some of the alleged U.S. corporate victims of the hackers have little incentive to cheer any trade rupture with China.

One, Westinghouse, is building four nuclear reactors in China.

Another, specialty steelmaker Allegheny Technologies, operates a joint venture in Shanghai.

A third, Alcoa, is the biggest foreign investor in China’s aluminum market. Indeed, Alcoa went so far as to downplay Justice’s charges: “No material information was compromised during this incident which occurred several years ago,” the company said.

American companies are in a delicate position. They want to maintain good relations with China, the world’s second-biggest economy and a market where U.S. firms’ earnings grew nearly 50 percent last year. But they’re also increasingly fearful of Chinese hackers stealing their trade secrets.

Looked that way, the hacking case is “going to be positive in opening up the conversation,” said Jamian Ronca Spadavecchia, founder of the Oxbow Advisory, which advises companies about risks in China and other emerging markets. “It’s bringing into the open some of the issues U.S. companies are facing.”

A U.S.-China Business Council survey has found that cybersecurity is a growing threat for U.S. companies in China: It jumped from to No. 14 last year from No. 23 in 2012 on a list of gripes about the Chinese market. American companies are also increasingly irritated by China’s attempts to censor the Internet, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

The confrontation over hacking — China rejects the charges as based on “fabricated facts” — highlights the often-awkward relationship between China and the United States. They’re frenemies in a globalized world — rivals and partners in both politics and economics.

U.S. companies complain that China is becoming less hospitable to foreign companies. They cite policies that give Chinese firms an edge over foreign competitors, cumbersome licensing requirements and endless struggles to protect their intellectual property — from software to music to clothing design — from theft.

For all the complaints and tensions, U.S.-China business ties are tight and getting tighter.

Last week, even as the hacking controversy raged, former U.S. ambassadors to Beijing rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange to mark the 35th anniversary of U.S.-China diplomatic relations. After all, 77 Chinese company stocks now trade on the NYSE. Another big one — e-commerce giant Alibaba — plans to list its stock in the United States, either on the NYSE or NASDAQ.

Trade in goods between the U.S. and China last year hit a record $562 billion. American companies earned nearly $10 billion last year in China, another record. American direct investment in China exceeds $50 billion.

General Motors sells more cars in China than in the United States. General Electric sells China clean power plants that run on methane. Wal-Mart has 390 stores across China. Starbucks runs hundreds of cafes in China.

In a big turnabout, Chinese companies have begun to invest in America, too. Chinese investment in the United States reached $14 billion last year, up from virtually nothing a decade ago.

About 70,000 Americans work for Chinese companies, according to the Rhodium Group consultancy. Chinese firms are being drawn to America by cheap energy and land and by U.S. wages that aren’t as high compared with China’s as they once were.

Sometimes frictions between two countries can encourage closer ties. U.S.-Japan trade battles, for example, led Japanese automakers to build plants in America in the 1980s and 1990s. China’s Tianjin Pipe is building a $1 billion factory in Gregory, Texas — a decision it made after the U.S. imposed sanctions on pipes made in China.

“The investment will continue” unless the U.S.-China disputes get much worse, said Raymond Cheng, CEO of the Sozo Group, a Hong Kong firm that helps Chinese companies invest in America. “Energy costs are rapidly rising and are cheaper in the U.S…. Everybody realizes that manufacturing needs to be closer to the consumer. That’s all the incentive and reason for Chinese manufacturers need” to invest in the United States.

Speaking by phone, Cheng noted that he had just left the grand opening of a Chinese shoe factory in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

It will eventually employ 109 Americans.

(AP)

The following statement was released to the media by Yad Vashem following the visit of Pope Francis.

Yad Vashem attributes great importance and special significance to the visit of Pope Francis, which we hope will foster greater Holocaust awareness around the world.

In his remarks at Yad Vashem, the pope stressed the momentous place of the Shoah in human experience, noting the boundless and incommensurate tragedy of the Holocaust.

His remarks in the Hall of Remembrance, which were characterized by poetry and prayer, dealt with the question where was man during the Holocaust and how could man have committed such a crime? In his remarks, the Pope pointed to the terrible rupture, where people lost their humanity.

His words at Yad Vashem, together with his speech on arrival in Israel, express shame and pain, regarding the nadir that humankind reached with the crimes of the Shoah. And he called for promoting education for human values, and for building a world without anti-Semitism in all its forms, and without expressions of hostility, discrimination and intolerance.

During his visit, the Pope signed the Yad Vashem Guest Book in Spanish.

English translation of his message:

With shame for what man, who was created in the image of God, was able to do; with shame for the fact that man made himself the owner of evil; with shame that man made himself into God and sacrificed his brothers.

Never again!! Never again!!

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Rosh Yeshivat Porat Yosef Rav Moshe Tzadka Shlita announced that anyone seeing Pope Francis during his visit to Jerusalem must toivel in a mikve. The rav’s words are in line with statements made last week by Mekubal Rav Yaakov Adas, who told people to refrain from seeing or listening to the pope during his visit fro he is metamei.

The pope landed in Israel on Sunday 25 Iyar 5774 for a two-day visit to the PA (Palestinian Authority) and areas in Yerushalayim. Among those who met with him were the Chief Rabbis of Israel and members of the Chief Rabbinate Council.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

An Australian senator startled his colleagues by producing a fake pipe bomb during a committee hearing on Monday.

Sen. Bill Heffernan, who represents the ruling Liberal Party, was making a point about a relaxation of security at Parliament House.

The 71-year-old wheat farmer said he had “brought this through security: a pipe bomb.” From a plastic shopping bag, he took out what looked like a pipe bomb and several sticks of dynamite taped together, as he explained how he used to blast tree stumps on a farm.

Heffernan is a member of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, which at the time was questioning Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus about routine police and security issues.

Negus agreed with Heffernan that there was nothing to stop someone bringing explosive ingredients into the building through security.

“Under the current arrangements, that is a risk, yes,” Negus said.

Negus later told the committee that Heffernan had warned him that he would produce the fake bomb.

“I was satisfied that it was inert,” Negus said. But senators had not been warned.

“I just hope you are not doing anything illegal to which we are accessories,” committee chairman Ian Macdonald told Heffernan during his demonstration.

Before last week, virtually everyone who worked in Parliament House had to go through an airport-style metal detector and have their bags x-rayed.

Now the vast majority are not screened. Journalists, diplomats and some contractors are among the higher-risk minority who continue to be screened.

Senate President John Hogg said the security relaxation was partly due to budget cuts.

(AP)

Pope Francis was presented with a silver miniature ambucycle by Eli Beer, Founder and President of United Hatzalah to commemorate an actual ambucycle that was dedicated in honor of his visit to the Israel. The meeting took place at the Heichal Shlomo event which was hosted by the Chief Rabbis of Israel.

Eli Beer, United Hatzalah president and founder explained the significance of the organization’s holy work, which saves thousands of lives of Jews, Muslims and Christians each year. By using ambucycles casualties could be reached and assisted within minutes, the life-saving United Hatzalah model which he stressed could be copied anywhere else in the world.

Pope Francis was particularly moved to learn that Ichud Hatzalah had just started a chapter in Argentina and has plans to expand internationally wherever possible. The Pope was visibly moved by the dedication of a new ambucycle in his honor, which was donated by Isi Danon of South Africa and will be immediately be deployed on the streets of Jerusalem.

At the special event, Chief Rabbi David Lau also commended the work of United Hatzalah specifically during the Second Intifada, when Jerusalem was hit by a wave of deadly suicide attacks, moments away from Heichal Shlomo where the event was held.

“The Pope seemed very interested to hear about how United Hatzalah saves the lives of men, women and children, Jews, Muslims and Christians on a daily basis. He was visibly moved by the donation of an ambucycle in his honor. I explained that the more ambucycles we have, the quicker our response time will be, and that we are now trying to get our response time down to 90 seconds, and save even more precious lives.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

“The surge of far-right and anti-Semitic parties in a number of countries is a shock and a reason for great worry. European leaders must address this problem urgently and come up with a strategy to fight extremism. The future of European Jewry is a stake if these forces are not reined in. Extremists must not be allowed to set the agenda in Europe,” World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder said in reaction to the results of EU-wide elections for the European Parliament. He urged European governments to enter into a constructive dialogue with the WJC on this issue.

The poll in the 28 EU member states saw a strong showing of xenophobic and anti-Semitic groups in a number of countries, including in Austria, France, Greece and Hungary. Several heads of European Jewish communities shared Lauder’s view.

“Jews cannot be expected to remain silent when radical or extremist parties that used to be on the margins of politics make it into the top three in several countries, and in the case of France even come out on top,” said Ronald S. Lauder, adding: “Even if they remain a minority in the new European Parliament, these parties will be able to influence the European agenda, unless they are completely isolated. In the wake of the Brussels and Toulouse murders of Jews, it is high time the EU leaders came up with a credible plan on how to combat anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia on the continent, and how to ensure that Jews and other minorities are protected effectively. In this, the voice of the Jewish communities must be heard and concerns about their safety taken seriously.”

WJC Vice-President Roger Cukierman, the head of the Jewish umbrella organization CRIF in France, where the far-right National Front (FN) of Marine Le Pen polled 26 percent of the vote and became the strongest party, declared: “This weekend, we witnessed the deadly attack in Brussels, the anti-Semitic incident in Créteil, and the result of the European elections. We are very worried. While the strong result of the FN can be explained with the economic crisis in France, which must be overcome, it is also of critical importance that the mainstream republican parties reestablish trust with French citizens.”

In Hungary, the extreme-right Jobbik party received 15 percent of the vote nation-wide and again became the third largest political force in the country. In Germany, the extremist NPD polled 1 percent and will send a lawmaker to the Strasbourg-based EU assembly for the first time. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which is openly anti-Semitic and whose leaders have denied the Holocaust, became the third-largest party in Greece and got its best nation-wide result ever, polling 9.4 percent.

WJC Vice-President Benjamin Albalas, the head of the Central Board of Greek Jewish Communities (KIS), declared: “It is not only very disappointing that Golden Dawn saw a significant rise in its share of the vote, winning three seats in the European Parliament, but also that other extreme-right parties in Greece and beyond did so well in the elections. A great number of European citizens seem to have forgotten what happened during the Holocaust and World War II. Racism and anti-Semitism are again hitting Europe. It is time for immediate action.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

In Israel, the news of the considerable gain by the far-right extremist parties in Sunday’s 25 Iyar European Parliament election is a clear sign that it is time for the European Jewish community to head home to Israel.

Voters in 21 of the EU’s 28 nations went to the polls Sunday to elect their lawmakers to serve in the EU 751-seat legislature. The other seven countries in the bloc had already voted in a sprawling exercise of democracy that began Thursday in Britain and the Netherlands.

Making headlines is France’s extremist National Front party which took 26% of the vote, a staggering 4.1 million votes. Party leader Marine Le Pen called the success “the first step in a long march to liberty”.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the win “a shock and an earthquake”.

Nigel Farage of the Euroskeptical UK Independence party was expecting a similar victory. If predictions prove correct, it will be the first time that an insurgent party tops the polls in that country.

In Denmark, with 95 percent of votes counted, the Social Democrats, the main government party, retained their five seats to remain the biggest party. But the big winner in the elections was the populist, opposition Danish People’s Party, which won three more seats, for a total of four.

In Germany, a year-old party that wants Germany to stop using the euro single currency reportedly won 6.7 percent of the vote. In Greece, the extreme right Golden Dawn party was third with 9.33 percent.

While the EU Parliament will not have a direct impact on day-to-day life for most, many feel it is a sign of the times and the extremist trend that is often associated with anti-Semitism is rearing its ugly head and for many, it is a clear sign that the good days for European Jewry may be a thing of the past.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

President Barack Obama led the nation in commemorating Memorial Day, declaring the United States has reached “a pivotal moment” in Afghanistan with the end of war approaching.

Obama, who returned just hours earlier from a surprise visit with U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, paid tribute to those lost in battle there and elsewhere over history. He called them “patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice” for their country.

“Early this morning, I returned from Afghanistan,” Obama told the audience of several thousand people. “Yesterday, I visited with some of our men and women serving there — 7,000 miles from home. For more than 12 years, men and women like those I met with have borne the burden of our nation’s security. Now, because of their profound sacrifice, because of the progress they have made, we’re at a pivotal moment.”

“Our troops are coming home. By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to end,” the president said to applause. “And yesterday at Bagram, and here today at Arlington, we pay tribute to the nearly 2,200 American patriots who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. We will honor them, always.”

The president made a fleeting reference to the widening scandal involving reports of poor performance by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is facing allegations of delayed treatments, and even deaths in Arizona.

“As we’ve been reminded in recent days — we must do more to keep faith with our veterans and their families, and ensure they get the care and benefits and opportunities that they’ve earned and that they deserve,” said the president.

“These Americans have done their duty,” Obama said. “They ask nothing more than that our country does ours — now and for decades to come,” he added, drawing more applause.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, a retired Army general, was among those attending the ceremony. Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for policy changes and better management at the department.

The Arlington remembrance was duplicated in villages, towns, cities and counties across the country. There was a holiday weekend reunion of some of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen in upstate New York. More than 3,000 volunteers placed flags at the graves of 120,000 veterans at the Florida National Cemetery. And in Mississippi, the annual Vicksburg Memorial Day parade was being accompanied by a wreath-laying ceremony at Vicksburg National Cemetery.

In Suffolk, Va., Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian McNeal joined those attending Fleet Week. “They made the sacrifice so everyday citizens don’t have to worry about the evils of the world,” he said.

At Arlington, Obama was joined by first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, at the solemn ceremony across the Potomac River from White House on the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The remembrance was for the war heroes of yesteryear as well as servicemen and women stationed around the world. It was carried out in idyllic weather under cloudless skies and a brilliant sunshine. The national observance was to be matched by parades, picnics and speeches across the country.

Obama appeared at the cemetery’s amphitheater to speak after carrying out the traditional presidential wreath-laying, surrounded there by troops in formal dress and hearing the playing of Taps.

Preceding Obama to the microphone, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, himself a military veteran, noted this year’s remembrance came with the approaching 70th anniversary of America’s D-Day landing in Normandy, France. And Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said “America’s sons and daughters are still out there today on the frontiers of our common defense.”

(AP)

Following is the address given by President Shimon Peres when hosting Pope Francis during his official visit to the President’s Residence on Monday, 26 Iyar 5774.

Your Holiness Pope Francis,

I want to welcome you, on behalf of the State of Israel and all the people of Israel, with a warm “Shalom,”

You have come to Jerusalem which radiates faith and understands suffering. The humility in your nature and the power in your spirit raised a spiritual elation and a thirst for peace. The values which you stand for enrich us and bring righteousness between people. The moral call remains the wisest human judgment. It has no equal. Today, you are greeted here by a distinguished and diverse representation of Israeli society.

A society in which freedom of speech, the right to express oneself and the respect of holy sites are cornerstone values.

With your permission, I shall welcome all those who convened here in your honor – community and religious leaders, city mayors, judges, people of intellect and science. Jews and Arabs, Druse and Circassians, Catholics and Orthodox, young and old, men and women, from the city and from the

They long to hear your words while they are characterized by their fear of God and the love for humanity. They have come to bless you on inspiring by your very nature trust among the fallen and strength among the trodden. A combatant against discrimination, anti-Semitism and racism.

Your Eminence,

The world is shocked by the blood that is shed in city squares, and in the thick of villages. The blood of the clean-handed is crying from the land. The blood of the innocents, the blood of children which had yet to taste the flavor of life.

No one can stand the growing number of widows, orphans, refugees that run with nowhere to go, and foodless. Grief and bereavement calls for true soul-searching, everywhere and at all time.

Your visit, Your Holiness, is a moving event with the power to motivate the religious leaders into joining forces to enable moral ethics and scientific innovations to enable each person to free themselves from despair, poverty and violence.

Faith and science have the power to reveal the hidden strengths within people, the treasures of the land, and the innovation stemming from research centers. All this can bring blessings to our lives.

Sadly, rotten apples are also exposed. Those who plant the seeds of evil today are the terror organizations. They have no pity and spread destruction. They kill without judgment, without distinction, without pity without logic. We must stand together to prevent the menace on the lives of people and on world peace.

In the face of moral corruption we must show moral responsibility. And make clear that there is no greater contradiction than that between faith and murder.

I appeal to all the religious and spiritual leaders of our time: Make your voices clearly heard. With a distinct message. It is our duty that our children, the children of the world, regardless of religion or nationality, may live without fear and grow up in a world free of slaughter, a world which allows each person to live as a human being.

Your Eminence,

I know that you stand as firmly as a rock against any attempt to connect religion to terror. And that you aspire to create a common ground for global, regional and individual peace. We join you with body and soul in the effort to thwart murder and replace it by gates of peace.

Distinguished Guests,

I welcome the encounters between the religious authorities and the political world that can serve to highlight the spiritual, moral and common foundations that connect them.

Their ability to enhance political aspirations with the religious authority necessary to enable the compromises needed to achieve peace. I believe that your visit and call for peace will echo through the region and contribute to revitalizing the efforts to complete the peace process between us and the Palestinians, based on two states living in peace. A Jewish state – Israel. And an Arab state- Palestine.

This solution can be reached by mutual agreement. I believe that the citizens of the region want peace. They pray for peace. They are ready for peace with their neighbors and with all the nations of our region.

The threats of war will not bring peace. The dead will offer no praise. Only constructive perseverance can achieve peace. Only peace has the power to uproot poverty, overcome despair. Only peace can free people from tyranny. To the skeptics we shall say that we achieved peace with Egypt and Jordan, despite the fact that many saw this as a distant dream.

Your Eminence,

We are an ancient people, but our path is new. Because our values are constant, but the road is changing. However, there is no contradiction between the Ten Commandments and scientific innovation. In the words of Rabbi Kook: “We must sanctify the old, and respect the new.” Faith and science helped Israel overcome poverty, protect itself, and enabled it to achieve full peace. We will be happy to put our expertise at the disposal of all. And the more this will benefit others, the better it will be for us.

Your Holiness,

Your visit to the Holy Land is an important opportunity for a joint prayer to God in Heaven for peace. We would be honored to offer such a prayer either in our home or yours. In accordance with your kind offer.

A prayer that children will grow without danger to their lives. That a mother will bear her child without hearing a siren. That every man will sit under his vine or his fig tree untroubled. We will work together, Jews, Christians and Muslims to bring an end to the conflicts.

Economic prosperity and social justice for all. I believe that peace is the key to bringing about these changes.

Your Holiness,

Our home is open to every pilgrim. As is said in the Book of Isaiah, “For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Israel was born in innocence. It was built by pioneers who volunteered and who toiled to create an Israel worthy of the aspirations of our parents and the expectations of our children.

We are a small nation but with the world. A nation dedicated to Tikkun Olam – Bettering the world. A world which you call, “a world of brotherhood.”

My dear friend,

I was young and now I am old. I learnt that dreams do not age and I recommend to all act accordingly.

You walked in pilgrimage and you paved a road.

May you blessed.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)