Celebrating our First Quarter Century, 5742-5767 (1982-2007)
|
|
New Borns: RB Jerusalem Embassy Initiative Embryos: |
ROOT & BRANCH ASSOCIATION DELEGATION MEETS WITH MR. RUSTAM ISSAEV, UZBEK AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL, IN JERUSALEM
(THIS NEWS BULLETIN INCLUDES THE COMPLETE TEXT OF AMBASSADOR ISSAEV'S GREETINGS TO THE ROOT & BRANCH ASSOCIATION'S SECOND JERUSALEM CONFERENCE ON THE NOAHIDE COVENANT AND LAWS)
JERUSALEM, Yom Shlishi (Third Day - "Tuesday"), 9 Cheshvan, 5760 (October 19, 1999) Root & Branch: A delegation from the Root & Branch Association (R&B) met yesterday with Mr. Rustam Issaev, Uzbek Ambassador to Israel, at the Jerusalem home of R&B Board Member Mr. Samson Krupnick. Participating in the meeting with Ambassador Issaev were R&B Board Co-Chairwoman Rabbanit Pnina Peli; R&B Board Member Mr. Samson Krupnick; R&B Jerusalem Embassy Initiative International Director Mrs. Rebecca Weinberger; and R&B President Mr. Aryeh Gallin. The complete text of Ambassador Issaev's Greetings to the Root & Branch Association's Second Jerusalem Conference on the Noahide Covenant and Laws is reproduced below. GREETINGS FROM HIS EXCELLENCY MR. RUSTAM ISSAEV, AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SECOND JERUSALEM CONFERENCE ON THE NOAHIDE COVENANT AND LAWS 3 Cheshvan, 5760 Lt. Col. Martin Gallin, Esq. Dear Colonel Gallin and Rabbanit Peli: I would like to extend my personal greetings and best wishes to you, to the members of the Board of Directors, International Council and Council of Consulting Rabbis and Torah Scholars of the Root & Branch Association, and to all participants in the Second Jerusalem Conference on the Noahide Covenant and Laws. I would also like to extend to all of you greetings from my colleagues at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan and from the People of Uzbekistan, whom I represent in the State of Israel. We Uzbeks believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who is the God of Israel. We Uzbeks believe that God revealed Himself to us through the Rasul, our prophet Muhammed, and that God's teachings are recorded in our Holy Qur'an. We Uzbeks believe that Muslims and Jews, together with representatives of the world's religions, must strive to know God, to understand His universal moral laws, and to observe them. Such interfaith and interethnic cooperation produces precious fruits which benefit our respective religious communities and humanity as a whole. Uzbekistan, situated in the heart of Central Asia, has for centuries been a melting pot of many religions, including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and others. Mutual respect between the adherents of different religions was the outcome of this situation. Modern Uzbekistan today is a predominantly Muslim nation, with a population of 24 million people. We are proud of our glorious ancestry, which we trace back to Tamerlane. Our ancient cities, including Bukhara, Khiva, Samarkand and Tashkent, have entered the imagination of mankind, conjuring up images of romance and mystery. We Uzbeks respect the religions of all our citizens, including our most ancient and beloved Jewish community, reputed to be over 2,500 years old! During World War Two, the Uzbek People provided sanctuary for over 250,000 Jewish refugees escaping the Nazi genocide in Europe. Mr. Islam Karimov, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, has said, "There has never been, and I believe there never will be, antisemitism here in Uzbekistan". President Karimov has stated that the model for our modern Uzbek Constitution, now that we are a free people in a free land who have been liberated from the oppression of the Soviet Pharoahs, is the Constitution of the God intoxicated, Bible-based, United States of America, may that great land be forever blessed. We wholeheartedly endorse the resolution of the United States Congress recognizing the Noahide Covenant and Laws as the moral foundation of American and world civilization. On March 20, 1991, the U.S. Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate, passed Public Law 102-14, a Joint Resolution, stating that "these ethical values and principles have been the bedrock of society since the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the Seven Noahide Laws." The Republic of Uzbekistan concurs with the sentiments expressed in the resolution of the United States Congress cited above. We Uzbeks rejoice that the Jewish People has returned to the Land of Israel after 2000 years of exile, in fulfillment of both Biblical and Qur'anic prophecies. We Uzbeks have complete faith that the Children of Isaac and the Children of Ishmael will overcome their differences and establish a Covenant of true peace between themselves. We endorse the good works of the Islam-Israel Fellowship, which encourages practical cooperation between Muslims and Jews in Israel, and between Israel and Muslim nations, based upon an enlightened understanding of the teachings of our Prophet Muhammed as expressed in our Holy Qur'an and Hadith (Oral Traditions). Allow me to express my complete conviction that the Second Jerusalem Conference on the Noahide Covenant and Laws will make an important contribution to human moral knowledge and self-understanding. I wish the Conference all success. Salam/Shalom, Rustam Issaev |