Interfaith leaders issue plea for mutual respect
by Abigail Radoszkowicz

The Jerusalem Post
October 27, 2004, Wednesday

At a reconciliation meeting with heads of Christian churches in Israel,
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger called for the establishment of
a religious United Nations in Jerusalem.

The meeting at the Chief Rabbinate was called by Metzger in the wake
of the recent highly publicized incident two weeks ago in which
a yeshiva student was arresting for spitting at a Sunday morning
religious procession through the Old City headed by the Armenian
Archbishop of Jerusalem, Nourhan Manougian.

Manougian’s representative, Bishop Aris Shirvanian, was among the 14
high-ranking clergymen who accepted Metz- ger’s invitation.

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein of the International Fellowship of Christians
and Jews, who initiated the meeting, seconded Metzger’s proposal.

However, one informed observer pointed out that Metz- ger had
proposed the idea several times before. He added that it was unlikely
that anything would come of it, both due to contesting claims for
representation among the religions themselves.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Metzger vigorously condemned disrespect to
members of other faiths, noting that they were “not rivals but
brothers.” He said that he would call on rabbis, especially those
in the Old City where interfaith friction was most acute, to educate
their congregations to show tolerance to other religions.

Bishop Shirvanian emphasized that the spitting incident two weeks
was not an isolated one, with two occurring since. He reported that
religious Jews often spit as he walks by, especially when he wears
his religious medallion of the Virgin Mother and the Baby Jesus.

Shirvanian did note that the majority of their Jewish neighbors
treated the Armenian clergymen with respect. As for those who did not,
he suggested that the police impose stiff fines as deterrents.

Father Elias Michael Chacour praised Metzger for his courage in
acknowledging misdeeds perpetuated by his people. He said that the
whole world looked to Jerusalem for a sign, as it was home to three
different religions, quipping they all “belonged to the family of an
Iraqi citizen named Abraham.”

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Aristarchos, speaking in Hebrew, declared
the meeting “an important and joyful event.”

The church representatives signed a declaration that as leaders
of the Jewish and Christian religions they called on followers to
“increase their tolerance, respect, and understanding for members of
different faiths.”

GRAPHIC: Photo: ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi Yona Metzger chats with Rabbi
Yechiel Eckstein, Russian Orthodox Archimandrite Eliasey, and Father
Elias Michael Chacour after yesterday’s reconciliation meeting with
heads of Christian churches at the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem.
(Credit: Flash 90)