President Moshe Katzav has a sharp response to Syrian President Bashar Assad for his anti-Semitic speech welcoming the Pope to Syria two days ago. Assad contrasted Israel with those who maintain the values of love, tolerance and equality among human beings, and accused the Jews of \"kill[ing] the principle of equality when they claimed that God created a people distinguished above all other peoples... They try to kill all the principles of divine faiths with the same mentality of betraying Jesus and torturing him, and in the same way that they tried to commit treachery against Prophet Mohammad...\"
Katzav noted today, \"Syrian President Bashar Assad spent many years studying ophthalmology
but, apparently, did not find time to study either general history or Jewish history. [He] is young and has both the opportunity and the time to enrich his knowledge of human history... [Assad\'s father] did not bequeath his son a will of crudeness and anti-Semitism.\" Katzav also had some criticism of the Pope and the Vatican for not responding to \"the Syrian President\'s historically erroneous remarks.\"
Katzav noted today, \"Syrian President Bashar Assad spent many years studying ophthalmology
but, apparently, did not find time to study either general history or Jewish history. [He] is young and has both the opportunity and the time to enrich his knowledge of human history... [Assad\'s father] did not bequeath his son a will of crudeness and anti-Semitism.\" Katzav also had some criticism of the Pope and the Vatican for not responding to \"the Syrian President\'s historically erroneous remarks.\"