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Prime Minister Netanyahu Welcomes Pope Francis to Israel

(Prime Minister's Office) After Pope Francis arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu told him: "Welcome to our land, the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. You bring with you the spirit of reconciliation, faith and peace of millions of Christians worldwide, and also of many who are not Christian, yet who are caught up in the spirit of love for humanity which you embody. Your visit is an important chapter in the history of the relations between Christians and Jews." "I welcome the good relations between the Holy See and the Jewish people and Jewish state that have been built during our generation. We admire and appreciate your decision to lay a wreath on the grave of Benjamin Zeev Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement. We know that when you light the eternal flame at Yad Vashem in memory of the one-third of our people who were murdered in the Holocaust, it will be another expression of your belief that anti-Semitism is a crime against God and against humanity." "In the heart of the Middle East, the turbulent and violent Middle East, where Christians are often persecuted, Israel is an island of tolerance. We safeguard the rights of all faiths. We guarantee freedom of worship for all and we are committed to maintaining the status quo at the holy sites of Christians, Muslims and Jews."
2014-05-26 00:00:00
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