U.S. President George W. Bush told Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky that he was amazed to see how much Jerusalem had grown since he last saw it. A beaming Lupoliansky told Channel 2 TV that Bush commented enthusiastically on the construction cranes that were visible from his King David Hotel window.

In addition, Bush told Lupoliansky that he had been looking at the streets his motorcade passed in and remarked that Jerusalem was not only beautiful, but also clean.

The Mayor told Bush that "as religious people, we know that we are temporary, and that we have to be very careful when dealing with eternal matters such as Jerusalem, and must make sure to keep it united and whole." Lupoliansky also told Bush that Jerusalem must remain open to all religions, as it is now.