American President George W. Bush has sent Chanukah greetings to Jews, noting that the eight-day festival of lights "commemorates a victory for freedom and the courage and faith that made it possible." He noted that the holiday marks the return of Jews to the temple, desecrated by Greek rulers.
He did not refer to the Arab claim that the Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples were built and destroyed by enemies, is exclusively a Muslim site without any Jewish heritage.