The director general of Israel’s Religious Affairs Ministry was fired amid an escalating Muslim-Christian dispute regarding a proposed mosque in the Israeli city of Nazareth. Avi Blustein was fired after he claimed that Christian representatives threatened to shut down their churches for the millennium year if the mosque was built. A representative of one of the churches said Blustein’s claim was an attempt by the Israeli government to deflect its own responsibility for the conflict.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
