For Immediate Release
Toronto, September 17, 1996...B'nai Brith Canada has urged the government of the People's Republic of China to reevaluate its decision to invite Palestinian leader Faisal Husseini as a representative of Jerusalem to the Fifth World Conference on Historical Cities to be held later this month in Xi'an, China. In a letter to Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yijun, Frank Dimant, Executive Vice-President of B'nai Brith Canada emphasized that while the future of Jerusalem is a sensitive issue in the ongoing dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, it is nonetheless a united city governed by a democratically elected mayor and municipal council.
"These officials represent citizens of all backgrounds and faiths
residing in the city," wrote Mr. Dimant. "The chief official
of Jerusalem, as expressed by a majority of the city's electorate, is Mayor
Ehud Olmert."
Olmert has declined his invitation to the conference in light of Husseini's
inclusion. Dimant maintained that extending an invitation to Husseini was
inappropriate since Husseini holds no official municipal posting and therefore
is not a legal representative of the city. He requested that his letter
be forwarded to Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen during the latter's
visit to Ottawa this week.
B'nai Brith Canada has a special interest in China, having sent one of the first official delegations of Canadian Jewish leaders to China in 1995. The purposes of the mission were to explore the remnants of China's Jewish community, to view the country in its modern context, and to develop a bond of understanding and friendship between the Canadian Jewish community and the Chinese government and people.
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Institute for International Affairs
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