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World Celebrities Who Have Visited the Western Wall
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The Pope John Paul II
John Paul II vastly improved Catholic-Jewish relationships by strongly repudiating the old theological justifications for anti-Semitism and also by powerful gestures like his prayer at the Western Wall.
The Pope's contributions to Catholic-Jewish relations have been numerous and impressive in word and in deed: his silent prayer at Auschwitz in 1979 before the inscription in Hebrew to the Jewish victims of the Nazis, his visit to the great synagogue of Rome in April 1986, his penitential service on March 12, 2000, in St. Peter's Basilica, followed by the visit to Israel and its neighbors. One of the high points of this pilgrimage was a silent prayer at the Western Wall (of the Temple) in Jerusalem. These moments were broadcast throughout the world and have become part of the permanent record of the Pope's contribution to an improvement of relations between the Church and the Jewish people.
The Mixed Legacy of John Paul II
John F. Kennedy School of Government
President and Fellows of Harvard College
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George W. Bush, President of the United States
In 1998, George W. Bush took his first and only trip to the Holy Land. During a helicopter tour-guided by none other than Ariel Sharon-Bush was astonished to discover how tiny Israel is compared to its Arab neighbors. He later described the visit as one of the most meaningful experiences of his life.
The photographer captured a striking image of Bush, in a yarmulke, standing reverently at the Wailing Wall. The picture may be a symbol of Bush foreign policy these days, but it speaks to an even mo-re startling truth: Bush is the first in his family of politicians to craft a pro-Jewish image. Bush appears to be entirely sincere in his warmth toward the Jewish people. Since Sept. 11, he has resisted condemning his old tour guide, Ariel Sharon, as harshly as his father condemned former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
He has also applied the "Bush Doctrine" to Israel, saying in his April 4 Rose Garden address: "Terror must be stopped. No nation can negotiate with terrorists. For there is no way to make peace with those whose only goal is death." It's hard to imagine any Bush from a previous generation taking the side of the Jews so unequivocally.
The Bushes and the Jews, By Anne E. Kornblut
Boston Globe, April 17, 2002
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Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation
Greeted by beaming Israeli officials, Russian president Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit the Jewish state, capping a historic rapprochement between two nations that once faced each other as bitter enemies across the Cold War divide.
Putin makes historic visit to Israel
CHINAdaily, April 27, 2005
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Laura Bush, the first lady of USA
The decision of the first lady to plunge into the epicenter of Middle East politics was a display of true grit the likes of which it is going to take a long time for presidential spouses to top.
Laura Bush, fresh from her triumph at the White House correspondents dinner, visited the Western Wall, where she was greeted with a clutch of Jewish protesters, kept at a distance by officers while Mrs. Bush placed her note in the wall.
True Grit, May 23, 2005
The New York Sun
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Hillary Clinton, the first lady of USA (1992-2000)
Sen. Hillary Clinton visited Jerusalem's Western Wall on Monday, and slipped a personal note between the stones...
A blue shawl draped around her shoulders, Clinton spent a few solitary moments before the massive structure, while her male security detail stood on the sidelines, barred from the exclusively women's portion of the holy site.
Clinton did not reveal the content of the note she slipped in the wall. Many Jews believe that pleas placed between the stones of the holy site will be answered by God. A well-known shrine in Jerusalem's Old City, the Western Wall is revered by Jews as the retaining wall of the second biblical temple....
Sen. Clinton Visits Jerusalem Sites
November 14, 2005, ABC 7 News
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Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City
When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg kissed the Western Wall in Jerusalem last week, it was a paradoxically familiar and jolting sight. Traveling to Israel in its times of trouble, after all, is what New York mayors do.
Religion And Mayoralty
The New York Times
August 31, 2003
President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Gerard Depardieu, actor
One of France's most prolific and famous movie stars - Gerard Depardieu, took time out from a French film festival in Israel, to touch the sacred stones of the Wailing Wall in the old city of Jerusalem.
"I remember my previous visit to Israel 20 years ago. It was very exciting for me then, and even much more now!" - said Depardieu to the journalists, shortly after placing a note between the sacred stones and kissing the Wailing Wall.
Focus on Jerusalem
Israel Today
May 25, 2005
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Sharon Stone, actress
American actress Sharon Stone walks toward the Western Wall, Judaism´s holiest site, during a visit to Jerusalem´s Old City, Sunday, 12 March, 2006. The Wall is behind in bright sunlight.
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Madonna, actress and singer
One of Judaism's holiest sites - the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem - has been visited by pop singer Madonna. She has been joined by her British filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie on a spiritual mission to Israel.
It is part of the trendy Kabbalah faith - based on Jewish mysticism - she now follows. The singer recently adopted the Hebrew name Esther as part of her belief.
Before visiting the Western Wall, Madonna made a midnight pilgrimage to a Jerusalem cemetery, taking part in a candlelit ceremony at the grave of Jewish sage Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag.
Sky News
Madonna At The Western Wall
September 19, 2004
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Willem Dafoe, actor
Thursday October 20, 2005 Jerusalem: American actor Willem Dafoe visits the Western wall.
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Other famous persons who visited the Wailing Wall
- Bill Clinton, former President of the United States
- Edouard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia
- Richard Gere, actor
and many other famous persons...
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