The Press Office of the Romanian Patriarchate informs us:

On 7 September 2011, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church received His Excellency Mr. Dan Ben-Eliezer, Ambassador of Israel in Bucharest, in an audience at the Patriarchal Residence.

Mr. Ambassador thanked for reception and appreciated the very good relations between Romania and Israel, as well as between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Jewish community in our country.

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel appreciated in his turn the good relations that the Romanian Patriarchate has with the Jewish community in our country. In this context, His Beatitude emphasized the importance of taking concrete steps in the relations of friendship and mutual understanding between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Mosaic Cult which Great Rabbi Menachem Hacohen encouraged with much love, responsibility and wisdom till the recent
end of his mission in Romania.

During the meeting, His Excellency Ambassador Dan Ben-Eliezer referred to the situation in the Middle East and appreciated that the bilateral dialogue represents the only acceptable way in which peace among countries or religions can be promoted in the world especially in this part of the world. The Patriarch of Romania sustained this point of view and argued it underlining the fact that the pilgrimages that the Romanian Patriarchate organized during the last few years to Israel and to some other countries of the Middle East too increased a lot, so that many Romanian Orthodox pilgrims had the possibility to pray at the Holy Places and better know the Bible tradition and the common spiritual values.

During the meeting the problem of the attitude of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem towards the Romanian Settlement in Jerusalem built for the Romanian pilgrims who visit the Holy Land was also discussed, with the hope that the relations of the Romanian Patriarchate with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem will be soon improved through bilateral dialogue.