U.S. President Barack Obama is winding down a visit to Israel and the West Bank that has included talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and calls for the two sides to resume peace efforts.
Obama on Friday called for tolerance against others in a visit to Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.
"This is our obligation: not simply to bear witness, but to act," he said. "For us, in our time, this means confronting bigotry and hatred in all of its forms, racism, especially anti-Semitism, none of that has a place in the civilized world."
Accompanied by Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama spoke after viewing the Hall of Names: a circular room ringed by thousands of volumes containing names of people killed in the Holocaust.
Obama and Netanyahu are expected to have one more meeting before Obama departs for Jordan. The two men are likely to discuss Obama's Thursday speech in Jerusalem, where he said peace with the Palestinians is the "only path to true security."
Their discussion is likely to include what Secretary of State John Kerry may accomplish in follow-up talks..
Bethlehem visit planned
Later, Obama heads to Bethlehem to join Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a tour the Church of the Nativity, the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. VOA's Dan Robinson says the president plans to send a message to Christians in the region.
"And that visit is seen as a message of solidarity in part to dwindling Christian communities in a region that Mr. Obama has described as increasingly turbulent and is undergoing sweeping political change," Robinson explained.
Also Friday, the president took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the graves of Theodor Herzl - the founder of the movement to establish a Jewish state - and slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Jordan next
Later, Obama heads to Bethlehem to join Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a tour the Church of the Nativity, the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. VOA's Dan Robinson says the president plans to send a message to Christians in the region.
"And that visit is seen as a message of solidarity in part to dwindling Christian communities in a region that Mr. Obama has described as increasingly turbulent and is undergoing sweeping political change," Robinson explained.
Also Friday, the president took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the graves of Theodor Herzl - the founder of the movement to establish a Jewish state - and slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Jordan next
Obama travels to Jordan later Friday to meet with King Abdullah, where
the conversation is expected to touch on Syrian refugees in Jordan,
Jordan's economic reforms, and bilateral ties.
On Thursday in a speech at a university in Jerusalem, Obama assured his audience of young Israelis that they are "not alone" in facing threats to Israel's security.
Obama said Israeli leaders must recognize that "continued settlement activity" on land the Palestinians claim for a state is "counterproductive." Obama also said he believes Israel has a genuine peace partner in Palestinian President Abbas.
President Obama met Abbas in Ramallah earlier Thursday and called on Israelis and Palestinians to begin peace talks on core issues of their conflict without waiting for those disputes to be resolved in advance.
On Thursday in a speech at a university in Jerusalem, Obama assured his audience of young Israelis that they are "not alone" in facing threats to Israel's security.
Obama said Israeli leaders must recognize that "continued settlement activity" on land the Palestinians claim for a state is "counterproductive." Obama also said he believes Israel has a genuine peace partner in Palestinian President Abbas.
President Obama met Abbas in Ramallah earlier Thursday and called on Israelis and Palestinians to begin peace talks on core issues of their conflict without waiting for those disputes to be resolved in advance.
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