Jewish Group Emphasizes To Congress the Religious Centrality of Jerusalem

As Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is about to appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations announced yesterday that it is delivering educational materials to members of Congress emphasizing the centrality of city of Jerusalem in the religion and history of the Jewish people. The material includes a copy of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's book, "Jerusalem: Eye of the Universe" (excerpts). The OU's director of public policy, Nathan Diament, said:

With political leaders stating or implying that Jerusalem might be redivided for the sake of a "peace process," we must remind them of basic principles. The holy city of Jerusalem has been central to the spirituality and destiny of Jews for millennia. Forty years ago, Jerusalem was rescued from languishing as a divided city. During the period of 1948-1967, when the city was under Arab jurisdiction, Jews and Christians were barred from their holiest sites. Many holy sites were damaged or destroyed. Western Jerusalem was subjected to daily sniper fire. The duly enacted policy of the United States of America is the recognition that the holy city of Jerusalem as the indivisible capital of the State of Israel.