ROME (AFP/EJP) ---- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday asked Pope Benedict XVI to "personally and publicly" intervene to ask Christians to protest against Holocaust denial after an Iranian conference on the issue, his spokesman said.

Iran has defended its decision to hold the conference which ended on Tuesday and was styled as a scientific forum to examine questions posed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly cast doubt on the truth of the Holocaust.

Olmert’s spokesman said that he had asked the pope during a 35-minute meeting to call on Christians to protest against the so-called Holocaust revisionist movement.

Later, after a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minsiter Romano Prodi, Olmert told journalists that "the position of the pope was without ambiguity" on Holocaust denial.

"We raised the question that there would be a personal declaration and not a statement" to condemn it, he added.

The Vatican on Tuesday issued a statement that stressed the "appalling tragedy" of the mass murder of millions of Jews by the wartime German Nazi regime and warned of the dangers of denying historical evidence.

Catholic Church issues

Olmert also met with other Vatican officials for discussions on the Middle East peace process and questions concerning Catholics in Israel, particularly in relation to upcoming Christmas celebrations, a Vatican statement said.

The Israeli prime minister promised to accelerate negotiations between the Vatican and Israel over the fiscal status of the Catholic Church in Israel and the protection of Christian holy sites and other church property there.

Olmert’s visit to the Vatican took place as a bilateral commission between the Vatican and Israel restarted work in Jerusalem to finalise the economic part of an agreement between the two states concluded in 1993, Vatican sources said.
According to reports, Olmert was expected to reject the pope’s request for the Upper Room, the alleged site of The Last Supper in Jerusalem, to be placed under Catholic control.
The Israeli government had promised to arrange for its ownership to be transferred during a 2000 visit to the Holy Land by the late Pope John Paul II.
Olmert, meeting the pontiff for the first time, also repeated an invitation for Benedict XI to visit Israel.

"He agreed with me in principle," even if no date has yet been fixed, Olmert said, adding that he was surprised by the pope’s "very good knowledge of the region".

Meeting with Prodi

The Israeli premier, who is on a one-day visit to Italy, met Wednesday afternoon with Italian Premier Romano Prodi. The Italian leader expressed his “contempt and total disagreement” with the method and conclusions of the Iranian conference on the Holocaust.