The writer is a prominent professor of law at Harvard University and a well-known advocate for Israel.
The Jerusalem Post:
Israelis desperately want peace, normalization and a predictable future for their children.
Dear Mr. President, as I suggested when we recently met at the White House, I hope you will be able to take some time while in Israel to enjoy the wonderful sites of that remarkable country and to get to know some of its diverse people.
The Jewish (and therefore Christian) connection to the Holy Land, which is being disputed by some of Israel’s enemies, becomes self-evident when you see the Jewish heritage all around you and beneath every step you take.
Israel is truly the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, and a place of holiness to Islam as well.
Israel is among the most heterogeneous places in the world – a model of ethnic, religious and racial diversity. Though it is the nation-state of the Jewish people, more than 20 percent of its citizens are Christians, Muslims and members of other faiths. Its Jewish population includes Black Africans from Ethiopia, Sephardic Jews from North Africa, Russians, Georgians and many others. There are even Israelis from my hometown of Brooklyn and your hometown of Chicago.
The country is truly a mosaic, in every sense of that word.
Categories: Americas, Arab World, Israel, Middle East, Palestine