President Shimon Peres met with Christian leaders on Monday in honor of Christmas and the Christian New Year, and called to make Israel “the land from which a message of tolerance and love goes out to the world.”  “The Palestinians are not our enemy and neither is Islam,” Peres said.  Israel’s enemies are “terror, violence, and the alliance between religious fanaticism and nuclear weapons,” he added.

“We all have one God,” Peres told the Christian religious leaders, “and enriching uranium wasn’t one of his commandments.”  Peres told the leaders that Israel would continue to protect churches and ensure freedom of religion.