Members of Congress returned to work in Washington today and Rep. Howard Berman – Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee slammed the Palestinian leadership for its denial of the Jewish connection to the Kotel.

Here is the full text of the Chairman’s statement:

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today condemned a report issued by the Palestinian Authority that claims the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem has no religious significance to Jews.

“I strongly condemn the recent report issued by Palestinian Authority Deputy Minister of Information Al-Mutawakil Taha, which states that the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem has no religious significance to Jews.

“President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad know the spiritual importance of the Western Wall to the global Jewish community. To deny the Jewish connection to the Western Wall is to be deliberately provocative and inciteful, no less so than were one to deny the Palestinian connection to the Haram al-Sharif. The PA leadership should immediately denounce Minister Taha’s report, clarify that it is not the official position of the Palestinian Authority, and remove any reference to it from the Palestinian government website.”

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