President Reuven Rivlin yesterday visited Christian sites in the Jordan Valley, and met with Church and community leaders, ahead of his upcoming visit to Italy and the Vatican next week. As part of the visit, the President also visited Tabgha, and the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. In June, the church suffered an arson attack which caused serious damage.
At Tabgha, the President surveyed the damage at the site caused by the arson and graffiti attack, and met with church and community leaders.
He said, "It is an honor to be here as your guest. The warm welcome you have shown me, in this beautiful place, is a sign of the close friendship between the Jewish and Christian communities in the Holy Land, and around the world. I am here today, to make clear that the State of Israel - as a Jewish and democratic state, democratic and Jewish - holds dear its responsibility to protect, the freedom and safety of all faiths in Israel. We are here to make clear, there is no religious war in the holy land, these are attacks by fundamentalists, against a whole society, these are attacks by people who seek war and destruction, against people who seek to live in peace."