His Holiness’ Visit to Bethlehem Cancelled
Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 2:00 PM
 His Holiness with Ben-Gurion University’s former president Prof Avishay Braverman |
Dharamshala (TibetNet): His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived here this afternoon after his visit to Nalanda, Sarnath, Bod Gaya and Israel from 4 to 19 February 2006. According to a Middle East Times report, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Bethlehem was cancelled at a request of the Palestinian authority.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama was expected to give a public talk in Bethlehem on 19 February as invited by the Holy Land Trust, a Palestinian not-for-profit organisation. But the group withdrew its invitation at China’s request.
In a religious meeting held on 19 February, chief rabbi Yonah Metzer suggested the establishment of a religious united nations in Jerusalem. He said that the establishment of such religious united nations could help to identify what the different religious traditions have in common.
During his visit to Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel, on 16 February, His Holiness the Dalai Lama called for peace and a nuclear-free world.
“A smile is a sign of human internal warmth, regardless of religious, racial or gender difference. The world needs to be free of nuclear and chemical weapons. All religions have the same expression and the same language of peace, compassion, and respect for the other”, His Holiness said.
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration.)
