Today, the Cabinet will discuss last Friday’s incident in Nazareth. This was a regrettable incident the results of which could have been very severe, and I am pleased that it ended the way it did. During the event, I spoke with Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, Israel Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi, Nazareth Mayor Ramez Juraisi, Latin Patriarch Michel Cardinal Sabah and other church leaders. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was in touch with the Holy See. All of this was an attempt to explain the to the incident and the personal and private circumstances that have no connection with other issues. This is the effort that we are making to bring matters to a quick and calm conclusion. The State of Israel, since its founding, has scrupulously upheld freedom of worship and freedom of religion and full toleration towards the institutions of the religions active in the country.
This is our faith, this is our way, thus we have acted and thus we will continue to act. We are in a delicate period in which there is always the temptation to exploit events of this sort for purposes that are not relevant. I call on all elements to show restraint and responsibility and not to drag this regrettable incident, which we are pleased has ended calmly, into scenes of religious-based conflicts that have no relation to what happened.”
BPI-info
BPI-info
