In August 2007, amidst protests, a delegation of Indian Muslim leaders and journalists traveled to Israel. The visit was touted as a dialogue of democracies, and was organised by the American Jewish Committee's India office. During this trip, Maulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi, the then secretary-general of the All-India Association of Imams and Mosques, praised the mutual respect Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews have for each other, and encouraged resolving problems by dialogue rather than violence. Muslim leaders met with then president Shimon Peres, where Peres highlighted the coexistence of religions in Jerusalem and India's struggle with terror and separatism.