LOS ANGELES, USA - Jewish and Vatican leaders are working on a document decrying recent attacks on holy sites and calling for their protection, a Jewish leader said on Wednesday.
The document which is expected to be released on Friday in New York will call on people of all faiths to treat the holy places of others with care and respect and reject violence against holy sites as a form of political expression, according to World Jewish Congress executive director Elan Steinberg.
Steinberg said the document will not list recent assaults against holy places but that it grew out of attacks on Joseph's Tomb in Hebron and the destruction of giant Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban as well as forced conversion and massacres of Christians in Sudan.
"We reject the notion that anyone has the right to do violence to a place that is considered holy by others," Steinberg said.
The document will be issued by the International Jewish Committee on Inter-Religious Consultations and the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.
20:29 05-02-01
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