Haifa: Israeli President Isaac Herzog lauded the Ahmadiyya Muslims as an embodiment of “shared life, tolerance and respect” at the community’s annual convention in Haifa, attended by prominent religious leaders of different faiths, academics and public figures.
The community’s 29th annual conference or ‘Jalsa Salana’, held this week in Haifa, examined the historic Constitution of Medina and the principles it may offer for reflecting on shared citizenship, relations between diverse communities, mutual responsibility and the role of religion in building peace.
Herzog attended the conference on Thursday with the Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav, religious leaders, academics, Members of Knesset (Israeli parliament), former Mayors of Haifa, prominent cultural and social figures, diplomats — including the Indian Ambassador JP Singh — and several other international guests also participating in this prestigious forum.
The President thanked the participants and heard about the many activities they promote in the communities of Arab society and said: “I am a man of faith, I truly and sincerely believe in God, everyone knows my grandfather Rabbi Herzog, whose last name was Ambash – I believe in complete faith.”
“I greatly appreciate religious people, I greatly respect religious people and people of faith, who lead religious discourse and who have such a great social influence,” he added. “One of the problems is that the Israeli public does not know what an imam is, and does not understand the role. The Israeli public has seen all kinds of things that scare it, from other arenas, which have nothing to do with you at all. Now is the time to strengthen the imams, to give them their backs, to support them, this is an issue that I take it upon myself to push. The crime issue is worrying, it’s terrible, and everyone is under it. It’s a terrible disease.”
