Israeli president to visit

Katsav will visit Italy for about a week in mid-November, said Katsav’s spokeswoman, Hagit Cohen. The Foreign Ministry said the visit was "unprecedented."

Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations in the 1990s, and Pope John Paul II hosted Israeli prime ministers and other officials as part of his effort to build ties with the Jewish state.

The presidency in Israel is a largely ceremonial office, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the visit was "of great symbolic value."

"We have every reason to believe that the new pope is building on the foundation that the previous pope already built, and we will see a further strengthening of our relationship," Regev said.