“The Conference of Presidents welcomes the statement of the Administration, issued today by State Department spokesperson P.J. Crowley, in which he declared:
‘Regarding a claim by a senior Palestinian official that the Western Wall is an Islamic Waqf, we strongly condemn these comments and fully reject them as factually incorrect, insensitive and highly provocative. We have repeatedly raised with the Palestinian Authority leadership the need to consistently combat all forms of delegitimization of Israel including denying historic Jewish connections to the land.’“We also appreciate and agree with the statement made by House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Berman that denial of the Jewish connection to the Western Wall is ‘deliberately provocative and inciteful.’
“The Western Wall has been a prayer site for Jews since the destruction of the Ancient Temple in 70CE and not just since 1917 as the Palestinian Authority (PA) report claims. We sincerely hope that Palestinian President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad will heed the censure of the Administration and Congressman Berman and officially denounce this report. They and other PA officials have made similar statements which not only deny basic Jewish and Christian religious beliefs but undermine the chances for peace. This ongoing process of delegitimization of Israel and the ancient Jewish connection to the land is part of an ongoing campaign that damages confidence in the willingness of the PA to negotiate a solution that accepts Israel,” said Conference of Presidents Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein.
