(Communicated by Foreign Minister’s Bureau)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman met today (Monday, 7 March 2011) in the Vatican with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See, and Archbishop Dominique Mambarti, Secretary for Relations with States.
FM Liberman said that the statement made a week ago by Pope Benedict XVI, according to which there is no basis to the claim that the Jewish people are responsible for the death of Jesus, is a statement of historical significance which bears upon the relationship of the two religions as well as on the processes of reconciliation and peace throughout the world. FM Liberman requested that his hosts transmit the thanks of all Israelis and the entire Jewish people to the Pope for his rectification of the historic error for which the Jewish people has suffered for centuries. FM Liberman called on the Vatican to unequivocally condemn manifestations of de-legitimization of Israel around the world.
During the meeting, FM Liberman and his hosts discussed bilateral and other issues. FM Liberman thanked Secretary of State Bertone for his fair and even-handed approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and added that the moral voice of the Vatican is of crucial importance to international attempts to impede the danger Iran poses to world peace.
Government Press Office
