President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, visited Jerusalem's Old Walled City yesterday and prayed at Judaism's holiest site on the eve of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.
In keeping with Jewish custom, she placed a note in the Western Wall, last remnant of the ancient Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Before placing the note, she sat on a chair in front of the Western Wall and then knelt in prayer. During her visit, a shofar - or ram's horn - sounded a wailing note.
Hannukah commemorates the eight-day rededication of the Jewish Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians.
The president's daughter, dressed in dark trousers and jacket, prayed in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which marks a traditional site of the tomb from which Jesus was resurrected after the Crucifixion. Officials said a special room was opened for her to pray.
Emerging from the church, a smiling Chelsea shook hands with a Greek Orthodox priest. Earlier, she met a group of visiting US Marines.
A swarm of Israeli police and photographers followed her through the narrow byways of the Old City in Jerusalem.