Friedman Center Will Bring Muslims to Jerusalem, Former US Ambassador Pledges

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was honored at the event with the center’s inaugural Peace Through Strength Award.

The Friedman Center for Peace through Strength will help to “present Jerusalem to the Muslim world,” former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said at the gala opening of the center Monday night at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem.

“We will work to bring Muslims to Jerusalem to see for themselves … the extraordinary lengths Israel goes to to safeguard holy sites. There are about 2 billion Muslims in the world and only a tiny, tiny fraction have visited Jerusalem,” Friedman said.

He said that Muslim tourism can change the equation in bringing peace between Israel and the Arab world.

“We are on the cusp of ending the Arab-Israeli conflict for the next 100 years. Israel can and should be the solution, not the problem,” he said.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accepts the inaugural Peace Through Strength Award from former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman at the opening of the Friedman Center for Peace Through Strength at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on October 11, 2021. (Maya Margit/The Media Line)

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was honored at the event with the center’s inaugural Peace Through Strength Award. “No one I know is a better example of standing for peace than Secretary Pompeo,” said Friedman in presenting the award, which is made out of Jerusalem stone.

Peace, such as through the Abraham Accords, “follows from strength, truth and clarity,” Pompeo told the crowd. These truths include recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that the Golan Heights is sovereign Israeli territory, “and that Israel is not an occupying nation,” he said.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino told the event that the sport of soccer has succeeded in bringing children from all countries together. He pledged that FIFA would have teams coming from Arab countries to play in Israel. “Why not have Israel lead the World Cup between Israel and the Arab countries. If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy,” he said.

The Palestinian Authority reportedly canceled a scheduled meeting with Infantino due to his appearance at the center’s event.

There are about 2 billion Muslims in the world and only a tiny, tiny fraction have visited Jerusalem

Among those in attendance at the event, which was hosted by Israel’s Channel 13 News anchor Yaakov Eilon, were former US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump briefly attended the event reception before getting on a plane to return to the US; they attended the launch of the Abraham Accords Caucus at the Knesset on Monday afternoon.

Simon Wiesenthal Center Chairman Larry Mizel and businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams were co-chairmen of the Friedman Center event.