Anti-U.S. protestors heckle Laura Bush at J'lem mosque

Anti-U.S. protesters heckled Laura Bush at a Muslim holy shrine on Sunday, during a Mideast tour meant to to promote women's issues and defuse growing anti-American sentiment in the region.

As she approached the gold-capped Dome of the Rock Mosque, Muslim worshippers shouted, "How dare you come in here, and why are you hassling our Muslims?" As she entered the holy site, located on the fault-line of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one man seethed, "None of you belongs in here."

Israeli police formed a human chain around her, pressing together to push away protesters.

Earlier Sunday, Mrs. Bush placed a note in the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine, in line with Jewish custom. About 40 demonstrators, demanding the release of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, stood nearby, shouting, "Free Pollard Now."

At her first stop on her visit, the residence of President Moshe Katsav in Jerusalem, about two dozen demonstrators chanted for the release of Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison for spying for Israel.

"Pollard, the people are with you," the group chanted.

From Jerusalem, Laura Bush was set to arrive at the West Bank town of Jericho for talks with eight prominent Palestinian women, including cabinet ministers and legislators, and a visit to the site of the ancient Hisham palace.

At first, Bush's original itinerary included only Arab countries, according to senior political officials. However, sources in Jerusalem said the U.S. president asked his wife to include Israel in the visit. The first lady has no political meetings scheduled in Israel.

Bush arrived in Israel from Jordan, where she attended the World Economic Forum conference on the Middle East on Saturday. She told the gathering of more than 1,300 international business and political leaders that women need to have more prominence in government and business in the Middle East.

America's first lady said women already have achieved extraordinary gains in the Middle East and that change must come to any nation that wants to be considered truly free.

"Women who have not yet won these rights are watching," she said. "They are calling on the conscience of their countrymen, making it clear that if the right to vote is to have any meaning, it cannot be limited only to men."

She had shied from the spotlight in U.S. President George W. Bush's first term, but on Saturday, the first lady embraced a public role.

	Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's wife, Judy Nir-Moses Shalom, welcoming U.S. first lady Laura Bush as she arrives in Israel on Sunday. (Reuters)