Upon hearing of the European Union’s funding of the conference, Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Yariv Levin, who spearheaded the project, penned a sharp letter to the EU ambassador to Israel, Emanuel Gopra, stating: “I was shocked to see that the EU is involved in the conference and provides its support. This is blatant and unacceptable meddling in Israel’s internal affairs” reports MyNet.

Levin harshly criticized his European counterparts, calling their backing of the conference “a clear expression of superficiality, prejudice and unilateral adoption of extremist attitudes that are detrimental not only to the sovereignty of Israel and its citizens, but also to the experience afforded to tourists of all religions and nationalities who come to Jerusalem.” Levin concluded his letter by calling on the Ambassador to take immediate action to cancel the EU’s support for the conference and to encourage the EU to cease their interference in Israel’s internal affairs.

Emek Shaveh, the EU front NGO organizing the conference stated: “On Thursday evening there will be a concrete and professional dialogue regarding the cable cars. The minister responsible for the project, which has just recently proven to have no logic, neither from an economic nor transport perspective, chose to hush the criticism and divert the discussion to other subjects. We invite everyone who holds Jerusalem close to their heart, to come to a conference, hear and be heard. “