×

Error

There was a problem loading image LEKETlogo11870681_940029516055704_2554505469251269831_n.jpg
×

Message

fsockopen(): unable to connect to ssl://query.yahooapis.com:443 (php_network_getaddresses: getaddrinfo failed: Name or service not known)

 

 

 

In honor of the New Year, President Peres hosted a reception at his residence in Jerusalem for the heads of the Christian denominations in Israel

"The State of Israel will not tolerate aggression against members of the clergy. I feel angry at the insults some religious leaders in Israel have faced recently"

His Beatitude Theophilos III:

"We commend the police authorities and the security forces for their hard and responsible work. However, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of bitter experience, there is more that can be done, both to facilitate access to the Holy Places for pilgrims from a distance as well as from our local communities."

In honor of the New Year the President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, hosted a reception at his residence in Jerusalem for the heads of the Christian denominations in Israel. President Peres delivered remarks at the reception and condemned recent price tag attacks against holy sites, he stressed that Israel will not tolerate attacks on holy sites, "The State of Israel will not tolerate aggression against members of the clergy. I feel angry at the insults some religious leaders in Israel have faced recently. Israel has always been and will always remain committed to freedom of worship, freedom of religion. We will continue to guarantee access to holy sites for all. My prayers for the coming year are that harmony and coexistence reign in this Holy City, as an example and an inspiration for the togetherness of faiths across the world. Wherever intolerance appears we will continue to take firm action against it. There is no place for violence in our society, even more so when it targets people or places of faith."

President Peres stressed that international must act against extremist terror organizations and condemned the recent attacks in Russia, "We must stand united against the dark movements of fanaticism across the world. In the past two days, in Russia, too many innocent victims were killed by acts of madness. I speak for all of us present today when I say that our thoughts are with the families of the victims and our prayers go out to the full and speedy recovery of the wounded."

President Peres continued and added that peace is at the top of Israel's agenda, "Our peace talks with the Palestinians are ongoing; they are the greatest promise for our people and for the Palestinians. There is no solution other than two states for two peoples. An agreement between us can bring a change in the relations between Jews and Muslims and between all faiths. It is time for us and the Palestinians to move away from the language of enemies and opponents and embrace a dialogue of friendship and cooperation."

President Peres ended by delivering a greeting to the world for the new year and said, "There is more that united than divides us. We look forward with optimism. This house is your house and its doors are always open before you. I turn to you, as faith leaders, as community leaders, as people of peace and ask that you build bridges of understanding and paths of peace. This year is looking forward to the visit of Pope Francis, He is an outstanding example of a new spirit towards faith of prayer. He kept the old values but brought a new spirit of hope, of tolerance and of love. . On the eve of the New Year, I wish you all a year of peace, a year of hope."

The Minister of the Interior, Gideon Sa'ar, spoke and said, "We are committed and we remain committed and we will continue to ensure freedom of religion and religious practice in Israel for all religious denominations and groups. The Ministry of the Interior, under my leadership, attributes great importance to the relationship between the churches and all Israel's government institutions. We are pleased to allow free entry to all people who wish to pray at the holy sites. This weekend we all watched a TV report that described attacks on Christian clergy and holy sites here in Israel, we will deal with this type of crime with a strong response. I condemned this phenomenon immediately. The Israeli government will not stand for any attacks on the holy sites and against the followers of any religion anywhere in this country. The gangs responsible for price tag attacks at these holy sites that offended religious clergy and followers do not represent the Jewish people and its values. I hope these criminals will be apprehended and brought to justice."

His Beatitude Theophilos III also address the invited guests on behalf of the Christian leaders and said, "We take this opportunity to express our appreciation in particular to you, Mr. President for the determined and strong voice that you have been raising in condemning the wave of "Price Tag" crimes in our country, and especially in Jerusalem. In our capacity as the Heads of the Church communities we understand all too well the complexities of managing large numbers of people and we commend the police authorities and the security forces for their hard and responsible work. However, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of bitter experience, there is more that can be done, both to facilitate access to the Holy Places for pilgrims from a distance as well as from our local communities."

Photo Credit: Mark Neiman, GPO

 

 

 

The Jerusalem Municipality wishes all its Christian residents and visitors Season's Greetings

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat would like to extend his warmest greetings to Jerusalem's Christian residents on the occasion of the Christmas holiday.



December 25, 2013 - Mayor Barkat would like to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of Jerusalem's Christians denominations.



As the home of the three Abrahamic traditions, Jerusalem is dear to over 3.5 billion people of varying faiths around the world. Our city is proud to be an open city, with freedom of religion for all residents.


Mayor Barkat looks forward to his annual tradition of visiting Christian leaders from Jerusalem's diverse Christian community and to personally wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

On behalf of the residents of Jerusalem, Mayor Nir Barkat would like to wish all residents and visitors much health, happiness and success during this holiday season.

KKL Mexico holds an Urban Ecology with the the Ibero-American University.
On the 22nd October, the Ibero-American University (Universidad Iberoamericana) hosted the event - 1st Workshop in Urban Ecology: Understanding the city as an ecosystem. The event was the outcome of a fruitful collaboration between KKL Mexico and the University.

The event was attended by students of several faculties including Architecture, Engineering, Urban Planning, International Relations, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The undergraduates came from universities from all over the Federal District of Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), Anahuac University and, of course, the Ibero-American University (UIA). 

The event took place in a warm and respectful atmosphere where the new representative of KKL for Northern Latin America, Magister Shay Salamon, presented the work of KKL in Israel as well as its projects in Mexico. The latter were presented in context of the main topics of the event: water, energy, air quality and residues. The attendants were impressed and surprised by the high level of technology involved in the development for a better environment in Israel. 

One of the objectives of the event was to teach the real concept of urban ecology, which is the scientific study of the relations between human beings, the built surroundings and the environment, and how we can contribute with our knowledge to the planning and development of environmentally sustainable cities in the future. 

In the first part of the event, various experts gave talks on their specific field.  
Architect Moisés Gamus, Magister at the UIA University and KKL´s collaborator in this project, gave an overall explanation of what the urban ecology is and its scope. 

Sara Topelson de Grinberg, a prominent professional in the field of Urbanism, talked about the problems related to territory expansion and their solutions. She also introduced the case study which was later discussed in the workshop: Santa Fé. 

Dr. José Antonio Barrios, an academic at the Engineering Institute of UNAM spoke about the water issue in Mexico's Federal District: its shortage, waste, pollution and how to promote a culture based on saving water. 

Mr. Jose Luis Arbesú, architect and teacher of Planning and Systems, talked about the complexity of the collection and residues system in Federal District, the private politics managing it and the battle to be fought in order to educate the population on their consumption habits. 

Dr. Leonardo Martínez, a specialist in Urban Economy, spoke about how we should change the concept of mobility in big cities. 

Finally, on the topic of energy, engineer Ruben D. Ochoa, expert consultant in energy efficiency as well as founder of the organization SUMe – Sustainability for Mexico, spoke about humans' excessive consumption of energy and its effect on the climate. 

After the conference, the attendants were divided into 4 groups in order to discuss in more detail the Santa Fé Case within the four areas, with the professors. This moment was useful for the attendants to think back to what was apprehended during the conference whilst creatively coming up with ideas to put into practice to solve urban real problems. 

The most interesting part of the workshop was the contribution of engineer Oscar Vázquez, Director of the Climate Change at the Environment Bureau of the F.D. Government.  Contributing to both the conference and workshop, engineer Vázquez enriched the discussions with his knowledge from the government's point of view. 

We would like to highlight that the event was organized by the Ecological and Youth Committee of KKL Mexico. Special thanks to Carol Broussi de RubinMoisés Gamus,Shirley Dobin and Fredel Kajomovitz for their excellent job in the organisation and to all the volunteers of the Youth Committee for helping us on the day of the event.

 

 

TOURISM MINISTER DR. UZI LANDAU TO THE HEADS OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ISRAEL: "WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THE CONSERVATION OF SITES HOLY TO CHRISTIANITY; THE STATE OF ISRAEL SANCTIFIES FREEDOM OF WORSHIP AND WELCOMES COLLABORATION WITH THE CHURCH"

Minister Landau and representatives of the Tourism Ministry hosted pre-Christmas receptions today (Monday) and yesterday (Sunday) for the heads of the Christian communities in Jerusalem and Nazareth.

Tourism Minister Dr. Uzi Landau and representatives of the Tourism Ministry today (Monday) hosted a festive pre-Christmas reception in Jerusalem for the heads of the Christian communities and representatives of the various denominations of the Church.

Tourism Minister Landau: " It is no secret, that Christmas is one of the most beautiful and popular festivals in the Christian calendar, and around the world. Christmas is a festival that brings with it renewal and creativity, and new beginnings. It is a festival which brings a special light, and symbolizes peace, love for fellow man and the spirit of giving."

 

 

The minister continued: " The Ministry of Tourism, under my leadership has worked side by side with the Christian community in order to provide the best experience for the more than seventy five thousand visitors who are expected to come to Israel over the festive period.We are working in many ways to facilitate the crossing into Bethlehem. We are providing a free shuttle service which will operate tomorrow between Jerusalem and Bethlehem for the benefit of pilgrims and worshipers. We have invested heavily in the development and conservation of the Christian holy sites in order to enrich the spiritual experience for the pilgrims who visit the Holy Land. We will continue to do this for the Christian faithful from around the world"

 

The minister also said: " The State of Israel proudly carries the banner of humanitarian principles, foremost among them human dignity and the value of life - and has been dedicated to these principles since its establishment."

The minister noted that Israeli hospitals frequently treat the wounded, the sick and the needy who come from the Palestinian Authority and from neighboring countries - even in the absence of diplomatic relations. He also recalled that, during the snowstorms which raged in the region, Israel provided access to humanitarian assistance to our neighbors in the territories and in Syria, with the help of the United Nations.

"For me, as a student of the Bible and a Minister of the State of Israel, this event not only symbolizes Christmas – but the coexistence of those of different faiths, the friendship and the ability to find a common language, to build common values. Values such as the sanctity of life, liberty, faith, freedom of religion and conscience and the respect for all humanity."

Among the Church leaders attending the reception were Archimandrite Ignatios, head of the Shepherds Fields Monastery who read a message from His Beatitude the Greek Patriarch Theophilus the Third, Apostolic Nuncio to Israel H.E. Archbishop Lazzarotto Giuseppe, Custos of the Holy Land Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Mr. Jurgen Buehler Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem.

A similar reception took place in Nazareth yesterday (Sunday) with the participation of, among others, Archbishop Elias Chacour, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Father Bruno Varriano, Guardian of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Greek Orthodox Bishop Kuriakos, Mayor of Nazareth Ali Salam, Imam of the Peace Mosque in Nazareth and others.

Minister Landau referred to the International Day of Faith celebrations that had taken place in November in Nazareth in collaboration between the ministry and the Church.
" I expressed to His Beatitude the Latin Patriarch Fuad Tawal, my sincerest hope that this important day would be the first of many more events in the future, and, as we say in Hebrew, may we meet on joyous occasions."

The Tourism Ministry will distribute sweets and Christmas gifts to pilgrims and tourists making their way through Rachel's Crossing to the Mass in Bethlehem on Christmas. According to Tourism Ministry statistics, 56% of all tourists visiting Israel in 2013 were Christians. The ministry is expecting about 75,000 visitors to the Holy Land over the Christmas period.

Photos: Credit Nitzan Shorer and Miriam Alster

- Tourism Minister Dr. Uzi Landau, Senior Deputy Director-General Ahuva Zaken and Bishop Giacinto Marcuzzo, Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate in Nazareth (Jerusalem)
 - Tourism Minister Dr. Uzi Landau and Archbishop Elias Chacour, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Nazareth)

 

"The Lord is doing what he can but we must do what we need to do, to follow his wish and our destiny, to live in peace."

 

The President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, conducted a special festive visit to the Franciscan Catholic Church in Ramla in honor of Christmas. President Peres was welcomed at the entrance by children in Santa hats singing Christmas songs in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

 

President Peres, accompanied by the Mayor of Ramla and the head of the church, entered the main hall which was decorated festively for the holidays. The event was attended by the leaders of a number of Christian denominations, each of whom delivered a holiday greeting. President Peres joined the choir of a local school as they sang classic Christmas songs and, along with the gathered guests, was given traditional chocolates.

 

President Peres thanked the community for the warm welcome and said, "It is a special occasion for us to be able to celebrate Christmas all together – we all pray to the same lord and we all pray for the same thing – for the Lord to provide peace to us all and in particular that the young girls and boys will now know anymore wars and hatred. I came to offer my blessings on behalf of the State of Israel where Jews, Christians and Muslims live together. It is my pleasure to bring you the greetings of the whole people of Israel, a holiday for one religion is a holiday for the whole county. As a state we are responsible for your safety, freedom and holy sites and for your feeling as free and equal citizens that carry with them the hope that unites us for peace and a better world. The Lord is doing what he can but we must do what we need to do, to follow his wish and our destiny, to live in peace."

The Mayor of Ramla also added his greetings and said, "Ramla brings together all faiths, Jews, Christians and Muslims, and from this place we call for people to come together, and solidarity between all faiths."

At the end of the event President Peres and the leaders of the Christian denominations in Israel raised a glass to a year of peace and the president wished them a "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

 

 

Photo Credit: Mark Neiman/GPO