Putin and the Western Wall, Cont'd

I blogged about Vladimir Putins and the Temple discussion he conducted.

He reacted to the matter in response to a question at a press conference (k/t=IMRA):

QUESTION: You visited the main holy sites here and in Jerusalem. You even prayed at the Wailing Wall. I will venture to ask, what did you pray to God about?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: The Wailing Wall is a holy shrine for the Jewish people; it is one of the pillars of one of the world’s major religions, Judaism. As you know, Judaism is one of the four traditional religions in our nation, and this status for Judaism was established by the law of the Russian
Federation. Thus, I feel that it is entirely normal to visit this shrine – in this case, a shrine of the Jewish people.

In addition, there are also other considerations. You know, all disputes in the Middle East ultimately come down to this place, because it is a point of contention, and one of the most problematic matters in this discussion is who this place belongs to. First, a synagogue was built here, then other cultural buildings, then still others – and so on. Honestly, I have been here before, I have watched, and I have visited the Wailing Wall, too. But I never had the chance to get to see it so closely. It was very interesting and useful to look at this problem from within, to hear specialists talk about it.

Moreover, I do not know who among you has been there, whether you have seen it or not, but I was able, quite spontaneously, to talk to people who had just come there to pray. I must say that it was an interesting conversation and the people were very open, kind, interested in cooperating with all their sisters and brothers from other faiths. It was very nice to hear and see.

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