As a special emissary to the Holy Land representing the Rabbinical Alliance
of America, and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada, I had the
merit to be a key organizer and participant in the historic conference of
religious leaders pertaining to the sanctity of the Holy City of
Jerusalem. The media coverage of this conference occurred on March 30th to
the 31st, 2005, and included a front page story in the New York Times. A
document was issued which was signed by the Israeli Chief Rabbis, the various
Christian Patriarchs, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, currently the Vatican Apostolic
Ambassador to Washington, myself, representing the American Rabbinate, and
various Muslim leaders.
The heretofore, unparalleled scope of participants in Annapolis and the
previous statements of various religious leaders, such as a statement issued by
the Vatican on November 8th, 2006, which addressed preserving the sanctity of
Jerusalem which is venerated by so many faithful, provides a unique opportunity
for building goodwill between all the religious faith
communities.
Surely the City of Jerusalem deserves the sanctity and
respect accorded to Vatican City, Mecca, Karbalah, and other cities which
faithful venerate. Thus, there should be no immoral parades, public
displays, homosexual or heterosexual, no pornography, no titillating
advertisements, no establishments which promote licentiousness, and no municipal
funding of movies, plays, or cultural events that are immodest or offend the
sensibilities, not only of the various faith communities which populate
Jerusalem, but the millions, if not billions, worldwide, who venerate Jerusalem,
and all her Holy sites.
We call upon the various religious personalities who have historically had
connections with Christian Holy sites, such as Pope Benedict, the Patriarchs of
the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Church,
etc...as well as the King of Morocco, who is traditionally charged with
protecting Muslim Holy sites, and other leaders who are not mentioned here, to
promptly join together and issue statements and exercise influence to see that a
binding agreement is signed by the appropriate authorities forever guaranteeing
the sanctity of the entire Jerusalem, the Old City, East Jerusalem, which is
largely populated by Arabs, and West Jerusalem, which is populated by
Jews. If it is called Jerusalem by any party, it should be totally devoid
of anything, which would offend any of the religious sensibilities of the major
faiths.
All who care for the sanctity of Jerusalem should insist
that the section of Israeli Basic Law which pertains to Jerusalem's' sanctity be
updated and made crystal clear, there should be zero tolerance for any type of
public immorality, immodesty, or so-called "cultural activity" which wouldn't be
acceptable in the other aforementioned cities!
Safeguarding the sanctity of Jerusalem should be the first step in this new
era of international and interreligious cooperation.
As Orthodox
Jews, we call upon the Knesset to act expeditiously and legislate in a manner
which ensures the success of this movement to preserve Jerusalem's
sanctity. We call on the Mayor and City Council of Jerusalem to defund all
immoral events that offend traditional religious sensibilities.
This common denominator of concern for the sanctity of Jerusalem will
create international goodwill and empower those who sincerely seek
peace.
Follow this link to view Rabbi Levin's Youtube Video regarding the "Annapolis Meeting": http://youtube.com/watch?v=sSUHg-ZaKps
SOURCE:
No comments:
Post a Comment