MK Melchior, father of Oslo's chief rabbi
צילום: גיל יוחנן
Syrian mufti talks peace at Oslo synagogue
Muslim spiritual leader meets with Oslo's chief rabbi and Israeli citizen Yoav Melchior, tells him religion can help promote peace. Sources who attended meeting: Mufti doesn't genuinely believe Israel has right to exist
A historic event took place Monday at the great synagogue in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, as Syria's mufti, Dr Ahmed Bader al-Din Hassoun, met with the city's chief rabbi Yoav Melchior, an Israeli citizen and the son of MK Rabbi Michael Melchior.
At the end of their conversation, the mufti, who received Damascus' authorization to attend the meeting, invited Melchior to visit Syria, and the latter said that he would weigh the invitation favorably.
The mufti came bearing a message of peace. "Our religions are very close to one another," he said, "we believe in the same God, and religion shouldn't involve politics. The politicians use religion for wars. Had they left things for the religious leaders, we would have done quite well."
When asked to promote the transfer of Israeli spy Eli Cohen's remains to Israel, the mufti said that this would be possible when there was peace.
Rabbi Melchior said, "For 2,000 years we, the Jews, haven't been welcomed warmly. It's true that we suffered more in Europe, but life in Muslim countries has also been hard for us."
Jewish sources who attended the meeting were disappointed by the mufti's statements. "The mufti went on and on about peace, but when we tried getting to the bottom of things, we could understand from his words that he doesn't really think that Jewish state should exist."
Following the meeting, Rabbi Melchior said, "I felt that he was sent by the Syrian government in order to show another side of Syria, talk peace and make statements that don't cost money. But in the end, such encounters are important."
