Photo Credit: Jason D Greenblatt / Twitter
US Special Representative to International Negotiations Jason D. Greenblatt prays at the Western Wall on 17 Tamuz (2017)

U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason D. Greenblatt went to the Western Wall (Kotel) on Monday night to pray for world peace.

Greenblatt was participating in the traditional prayers marking the start of the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tamuz, when Jews around the world commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem and the ancient First and Second Holy Temples of the Jewish People.

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After his prayers at the Wall, Greenblatt said in a tweet, “I pray for peace here for all,” and in a second that he was praying especially for the families of those held hostage by Hamas.

The envoy has more than enough reason to pray with intensity. He arrived in Israel on Monday on a mission “to continue [the] efforts to try to achieve a lasting peace for Israel and the Palestinian Territories,” and has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, and their various officials.

Greenblatt met Monday evening with the families of two of three live hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas; an experience that led him to write in a tweet after the encounter, “Shame on Hamas for preventing their return. All must come home.”

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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.