No Proselyting in Jerusalem, BYU Promises
JERUSALEM — The president of Brigham Young University gave a written pledge today that the Utah school’s Jerusalem extension will not try to convert Jews to Christianity.
The pledge, signed in the office of Mayor Teddy Kollek, was unlikely to end demonstrations by Orthodox Jews who claim that the university is building a missionary center for Mormons.
Two dozen demonstrators in the black garb of the Jewish Orthodox community maintained a protest vigil outside Kollek’s office as Jeffrey Holland, president of the Provo, Utah, university signed the document.
Other protesters were posted outside Holland’s hotel and on the Mount of Olives, where the $15-million university extension is under construction.
“It is important for everyone to understand that this is not a missionary center,†Holland told reporters. “We are not here to proselytize anyone.â€
Brigham Young, the principal university of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has operated a Near East studies department in makeshift quarters in Jerusalem for 16 years. The new building will allow the program to double to 200 students, university officials said.
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