(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni hosted an Iftar dinner on Sunday evening (16 Sept) at the King David Hotel to break the day's fast. Forty guests participated, among them Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Information Minister Riad al-Maliki, Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed Assem Ibrahim Mohamed, Jordanian Ambassador Ali al-Ayed, and Mauritanian Ambassador Ahmed Ould Teguedi. Other guests included Israeli public figures and Muslim and Druze mayors and council heads.
Minister Livni welcomed the guests and commented that the evening's significance went beyond merely breaking the Muslim fast of Ramadan and the Jewish Fast of Gedaliah. The event, she stated, symbolized co-existence and common values based on the belief that joint efforts can bring peace.
Minister Livni added that the religious tolerance demonstrated by Jews, Muslims and Christians sitting and eating together emphasizes the need to denounce the extremists who misuse religion in order to spread their radical ideology.
At the dinner, speeches were also delivered by the Palestinian prime minister, the Egyptian and Jordanian ambassadors and some of the Israeli leaders.