US President Barack Obama continues "to pray" for peace between Israel and its neighbors amid Middle East unrest, he said Friday in a message honoring the Jewish holyday of Passover.
"Against the backdrop of change, we continue to pray for peace between Israel and its neighbors, while reaffirming our enduring commitment to Israel's security," Obama said in a statement.
Passover, which begins at sunset next Monday, commemorates the freeing of the Jews from slavery in Egypt thousands of years ago.
It continues through April 26 with an array of festivities, such as Seder dinner, blessings, prayer, story-telling, skits and socializing.
Passover "instructs each generation to remember its past, while appreciating the beauty of freedom and the responsibility it entails," the president wrote. "This year, that ancient instruction is reflected in the daily headlines as we see modern stories of social transformation and liberation unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa," he said of revolts that have toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and similar anti-government rage in Libya, Yemen and Syria.
On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States would put a "better focus" on reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, after Arab uprisings crowded the agenda recently.
In a speech Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged Washington's "active" leadership in solving the decades-old conflict as she said the status quo between the Israelis and Palestinians is "unsustainable."