Western Wall Rabbi thanks Kushner for his dedication to Israel
"This is incontrovertible proof of the connection between the Jewish nation and Jerusalem," Rabinowitz said to Kushner.
By SARAH BEN-NUNUpdated: DECEMBER 22, 2020 11:39Jared Kushner receiving his gift with the attendees at the Western Wall, December 21, 2020. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites, profusely thanked Jared Kushner for his service to the State of Israel under US President Donald Trump's administration on Monday."This is incontrovertible proof of the connection between the Jewish nation and Jerusalem," Rabinowitz said to Kushner as he gifted him an album of the Western Wall Tunnels, as well as an ancient vessel.Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, was present at the ceremony, in addition to National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat.Ben-Shabbat and Kushner are set to fly on the first direct commercial flight to Morocco with a US and Israeli delegation, symbolizing the solidification of the recent normalization ties between the two countries. Official documents are set to be signed in Rabat by both delegations to kick-start the agreements.Earlier in the evening, during a joint press release with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kushner extolled the opportunities that the Abraham Accords have brought and will continue to bring to the region."As this new Middle East moves forward, I hope that all countries will focus on pursuing common interests for the benefits of their citizens instead of being held back by stale thinking and old conflicts," they said.“Scapegoating, antisemitism and isolating Israel have led to destructive behavior that has held the world back for far too long,” the statement said.The Abraham Accords, first signed on September 15, catapulted a historic trend of normalizing ties and peace declarations made with Israel, beginning with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and culminating with Sudan, Morocco, and most recently, Bhutan.Ben-Shabbat had joined Rabinowitz on Sunday of last week to light Hanukkah candles with other notable figures, including US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. They were taken on a tour of the new Western Wall Tunnels excavation, making Rabinowitz's gift to Kushner especially meaningful."This is our generation’s time to preserve the miracle of the rebellion," Rabinowitz wrote on December 17, "to preserve Jewish identity and to keep the light of the Jewish nation burning for generations to come."“Every morning in my daily prayers I recite the paragraph Sim shalom, in which I ask God to grant peace, goodness, blessing and grace,” Kushner said earlier on Monday night during the press release.Rabinowitz concluded the evening similarly with a prayer: "Spread on us and on Jerusalem, Your city, the shelter of peace… May the Blessed be that He pay your reward… May the Lord guard your going out and your coming in, from now and to eternity."
