Will Prince William become the first royal to formally visit Kotel?
Britain’s Prince William may pay a visit to the Western Wall during his trip to Israel at the end of next month, Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich said on Thursday.
Rabinovich, during a meeting with Israeli reporters, said British officials have looked into the possibility of a visit to the Western Wall.
A spokesperson at the British embassy said that they could not give any more information about the visit than what has already been released.
Kensington no mention Palace made of a visit to the Western Wall when it announced William’s itinerary earlier this week.
However, the statement did say that part of the program for the day when William will visit the “occupied Palestinian territories” will “be announced at a later date, but will allow his royal highness to understand and pay respects to the religions and histories of the region.”
Rabinovich gave a tour of the Western Wall on Thursday to visiting US homeland security secretary Karstijen Nielsen. He said he responded to one of her questions by explaining that the Western Wall is a place of prayer for all religions.
Rabinovich quoted her as saying that it was an “honor” to be at the site.
The Western Wall rabbi said that ever since US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Wall in March, visits by senior US officials have become a routine.
Rabinovich mentioned that US officials are not the only ones visiting. On Tuesday, he said, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey came to the sight.
Rabinovich said that the Togolese foreign minister told him that he was previously a Christian monk and that, “I feel that I have a mission in the world to do good by the Jewish people.”
The rabbi quoted Dussey as saying that while Togo does not have an embassy in Israel, this may be an opportunity to set one up and possibly to put it here in Jerusalem.