David Friedman: Muslim Tourism to Jerusalem Can End Conflict
- Felice Friedson
Former U.S. envoy to Israel David Friedman is opening the Friedman Center for Peace through Strength at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. Friedman said in an interview the big goal is to end the conflict. "I think it's endable. I think it's resolvable. I think what we've started is going to continue, the pace of which depends upon a lot of factors including support from the U.S. administration, but we are on a glide path, I believe, to end the Israeli-Arab conflict."
"My perspective on this is really to focus on Jerusalem. I think that making Jerusalem accessible to the Muslim world to see the care and respect that Israel gives to the Muslim holy sites, or the Christian holy sites, and of course, Jewish - I think seeing that firsthand will go a long way in removing the residual levels of mistrust that exist between the nations or the peoples."
"I think that the most important thing is to begin to show the Muslim world that the third holiest site is well taken care of by the Israeli government, and that Israel is the solution, if you will, to many of the problems in the Middle East; not the problem....We are going to use the opportunity of being in Jerusalem to meet with as many groups from the region as we can, whether from Egypt or Jordan, or from the Gulf, and to really emphasize the openness and respect that Israel has for the Muslim faith."
"It's all about changing the way Jewish people and Arabs, and Arab-Israelis and the entire region begins to look at each other in a way where they can coexist. And more than coexist."
(Medialine)
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