Britain's Archbishop of Canterbury concludes Holy Land visit
The leader of the Anglican Church of England visited Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: MAY 16, 2017 15:15ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY Justin Welby prays at the Western Wall.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on Thursday concluded a 10-day official visit to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.The leader of the Anglican Church of England began his trip in Jordan, where he met with Syrian and Iraqi refugees, before traveling to Jerusalem.During his time in Jerusalem, Welby visited the Temple Mount before being joined by UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mervis at the Western Wall, where the two spiritual leaders prayed together for peace. The archbishop also held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor and Supreme Court Judge Salim Joubran.Other sites visited by Welby in Jerusalem included Yad Vashem and St George's Cathedral.The archbishop also visited Christian communities and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, before traveling to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, where Welby spoke of the need for increased religious co-existence.The trip also included visits to Hebron, Nazareth and the Gaza Strip, where the archbishop visited two hospitals and the Gaza War Cemetery, where British troops killed in Gaza in 1917 are buried.The final engagement of the lengthy visit was at the Peres Center for Peace's Equalizer co-existence soccer project, where the archbishop played in a match with Arab and Jewish children.