Prince of Wales visits Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories

Prince of Wales with Church leaders in Bethlehem Image: Clarence House

Source: Clarence House

The Prince of Wales has been in the Holy Land this week. This visit was the first time that the Prince has undertaken a programme of engagements in Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

On Thursday His Royal Highness met President Reuven Rivlin and travelled to The Israel Museum to attend a reception for British Holocaust Survivors. In the Museum, the Prince saw a model of the Second Temple of Jerusalem and viewed the Dead Sea Scrolls inside the Shrine of the Book.

Later that afternoon His Royal Highness attended the World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem. During the forum, The Prince made a speech:

"The Holocaust must never be allowed to become simply a fact of history: we must never cease to be appalled, nor moved by the testimony of those who lived through it. Their experience must always educate, and guide, and warn us."

On Friday the Prince of Wales went to Bethlehem where he visited the Mosque of Omar and went on to attend an Ecumenical Service at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This was the first time that the three Christian churches have held a service together to celebrate the contribution of Christian communities across the Holy Land and wider Middle East.

That afternoon, His Royal Highness attended a reception to celebrate the strong ties between the British and Palestinian people. Addressing gathered guests, The Prince said:

Throughout my life, I have tried, in whatever very small way I can, to foster greater understanding between people of different faiths, to heal divisions and to remind people of so much that we share in common as opposed to what divides us. Indeed, as it says in Psalm 133 "behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!".

LINKS

Prince of Wales speech at World Holocaust Forum:

www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speech/speech-hrh-prince-wales-world-holocaust-forum-yad-vashem-jerusalem

Prince of Wales speech at Bethlehem reception Clarence House:

www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speech/remarks-hrh-prince-wales-reception-bethlehem

The Duchess of Cornwall will attend a service at the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz- Birkenau on Monday 27 January.