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Euroasian Jewish News
Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Israel
12.05.2009
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Israel as part of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, during which the pontiff will meet important religious and community leaders of the Near-East region.
The visit of the pontiff to Israel includes meetings with leaders of world Jewish organizations.
The President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Alexander Mashkevich met the Pope Benedict XVI at a state reception in the residence of the President of Israel Shimon Peres, during the pontiff's conversation with the religious leaders of Israel.
Benedict XVI visited the memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust, Yad va-Shem in Jerusalem. The visit of the Pope to Jerusalem was perceived positively by Israeli society. Over 100 rabbis, representatives of various movements in Judaism, signed a letter which hailed the visit of the Pope Benedict XVI to the Holy Land.
A number of important personae of the world Jewish community was present during the meeting of the pontiff with the Chief Rabbis of Israel Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar, including the leader of the EAJC, the President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder, and the Executive Vice-President of the Conference of Presidents of Major American and Canadian Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein.
In the course of his time in Israel, Alexander Mashkevich had a meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs Eli Ishai, and discussed the current problems of Israel's internal and external policy, and its connection to the relationship of the Jewish diaspora and the Jewish state. As the ending of his visit to Israel, at the invitation of the rabbis, Alexander Mashkevich took part in the mass celebration of Lag ba Omer.
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