JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - A chief rabbi of Israel disputed Pope John Paul II's call on Tuesday for a special internationally-guaranteed status to be granted to Jerusalem as a solution to the obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Rabbi Meir Lau responded to the Pope's claim that the city should be kept above politics because it is holy to three major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Lau said, "To the Pope who calls us 'our senior brothers' we ask for the rights of the first born because we have no alternative other than Jerusalem."
He insisted that Israel has an historic and religious right to rule Jerusalem. Lau added that Israel had safeguarded access to all religious sites in the 33 years since it recaptured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and there was no need for international guarantees.
Israel has insisted Jerusalem will remain its "united and eternal capital" but has said it may be willing to cede outlying areas to Palestinians. Meanwhile, the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Any hope for a near-time peace accord were dashed on Tuesday when US President Bill Clinton announced that the two-week-old Camp David peace talks had collapsed.
Christians in the region had expressed their concern that their rights and access to religious sites would be curbed by a peace deal that determined Jerusalem's status. Last week, the leaders of the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Churches in Jerusalem said they wanted to participate in the dialogue.
"Jerusalem is a special city in the world and any solution should take care of the spiritual nature of Jerusalem," said Father Raed, a spokesman for the Latin Patriarchate. "We ask that Jerusalem be of complete geographical unity."
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs