Jerusalem witnessed a “unique moment” on Wednesday as Chief Rabbi Ephaim Mirvis and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, prayed together at the Western Wall.

It is thought to be the first time a British Chief Rabbi and the head of the Anglican church have made a joint visit to the city.

Rabbi Mirvis told the JC: “It was a very special afternoon for me, to be able to walk through the Jewish quarter with the Archbishop, to show him memories of my own, where my wife and I lived for two years, and to live and breathe the Jewish history of the city, leading to the prayer together at the Kotel.

“It was a unique moment in history.”

Archbishop Welby is on a 10-day trip to Israel and Jordan, and had invited Rabbi Mirvis to join him in Jerusalem.

The two men visited other Holy Sites in the city and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Rabbi Mirvis said: “The Archbishop of Canterbury’s presence here in Jerusalem and his prayers for peace and reconciliation, particularly at Yad Vashem and the Western Wall, are indicative of historic, positive developments in the Anglican-Jewish relationship.”

The Chief added that he would like to send a message to Jewish victims of persecution through history “to let them know that a Chief Rabbi and an Archbishop of Canterbury would one day pray alongside one another, as close friends, in the holy City of Jerusalem.

“That the Archbishop would make time, in what is an exceptionally busy schedule, to see the State of Israel as I see it – a priceless divine gift, which brought deliverance to the Jewish world after centuries of prayer and yearning, is a testament to the high regard in which he holds the Jewish community."

Rabbi Mirvis said that his inclusion in the Archbishop’s itinerary pointed to an improvement in relations between the Anglican church and the Jewish community and was a “wonderful reflection of a strong personal relationship” that he enjoys with its head. 

Facing journalists during the visit, Rabbi Mirvis was asked for his reaction to the Unesco resolution on Jerusalem passed less than 24 hours earlier, widely seen as challenging Israel’s sovereignty over the city.

He responded by saying that he had stressed the Jewish connection to Jerusalem in conversation with the Archbishop and showed him examples of Jewish roots in the city which go back millennia. 

Earlier the two faith leaders visited Yad Vashem where the Archbishop spoke of the importance of combating antisemitism.

He said: “Within European culture, the root of all racism, I think, is found in antisemitism. It goes back more than 1,000 years.

“Within our Christian tradition there has been century upon century of these terrible, terrible hatreds. One people, who contributed more to our culture as a people than almost any other that one can identify, was also hated more specifically, more violently, more determinedly and more systematically, than any other group.”