H.M. KING ABDULLAH II OF JORDAN TO LAUNCH "THE AMMAN MESSAGE" PEACE INITATIVE IN THE U.S. AT THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE IN LOS ANGELES

A Simon Wiesenthal Center delegation met with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan today where he announced his intention to launch the United States leg of his initiative for peace - ‘The Amman Message’ - at the Center’s Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles this Fall.

The announcement was made at a ceremony in the Royal Palace during which the Wiesenthal Center presented the King with its 2005 Tolerance Award.

"We are recognizing King Abdullah for being a force for moderation and for his leadership in promoting peace and tolerance," stated Center dean and founder Rabbi Marvin Hier. "His consistent repudiation of terrorism, antisemitism, and extremism are critical in interfaith relations and in moving the Middle East peace process forward," he added.

Follow this link to read Rabbi Hier's full remarks.

King Abdullah told the delegates, "The Middle East lost two great men, King Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin. With their vision, if they would have lived, we would have had peace. The late King wanted peace for his children, my generation, so I tried to bring my own initiative, ‘The Amman Message,’ to have the silent majority stand up against what is being done in the name of Islam. Enough is enough."

The King accepted the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s invitation to address American leaders at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

He also announced that, "In July, Muslim clerics will meet in Amman. We will then move to Europe and the US. I look forward to taking up your offer and to launch the US part of the outreach at your Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The late King set a high standard. The bar is high, we must meet the challenge. People like yourselves stand up and reach out."

King Abdullah is the second Muslim leader to receive this honor from the Wiesenthal Center. The first was his late father, King Hussein, who was given the award in 1995 when he visited the Center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

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