Netanyahu and Pope discuss peace process, Iran
May 14, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI met on May 14 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for a private conversation that was "centered on how the peace process can be advanced," according to a papal spokesman.
Netanyahu told reporters that he had asked the Pontiff to speak out against Iran's harshly anti-Semitic public rhetoric. Although the Pope did not make a public response, "I think we found in him an attentive ear," the Israeli leader said.
The two men had met briefly earlier in the week, when Netanyahu participated in the welcoming ceremony on the Pontiff's arrival in Israel. But the prime minister left soon after that ceremony for talks with Egypt's President Mubarak. The May 14 meeting, which took place in Nazareth, was their first extended conversation. The meeting was the subject of some political speculation, because during his stay in Israel the Pope has repeatedly affirmed his support for an independent Palestinian state-- a step that Netanyahu has not endorsed-- and called for an end to the Israeli embargo on Gaza and the demolition of the security wall around West Bank
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