JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - As protester expressed hatred for Pope John Paul II, Israel's chief rabbis said today they were working with the Vatican to arrange the Holy Father's schedule during a visit this month so that Jewish security workers will not be on duty during the sabbath.
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chief rabbi of Israel's Ashkenazi or European-origin Jews, said Jewish leaders want to the Pope to remain in mostly Christian Nazareth during the Friday night and Saturday of his visit to avoid forcing police officers and others from working on the sabbath. The Vatican has already agreed to have the Pope spend Saturday in Nazareth and move up his meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Barak to Friday, March 24.
Meanwhile, members of an outlawed ultra-Orthodox group protested outside Lau's offices in Jerusalem, carrying signs saying, "The Pope, cursed be he," and "We don't want that the anti-Semite will contaminate Israel." Leaders of the Kach group have promised that the Holy Father's visit will not be peaceful and have threatened loud protests and egg-throwing.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs