Two rabbis invited to address Republicans

"The voice of duty is the voice of God, a commanding voice, asking us to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly as leaders of the free world," Weissberg told the GOP delegates Monday night.

Rabbi Marvin Hier of Los Angeles was scheduled to address the convention on Wednesday. He introduced a segment on the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance, which he founded. Hier is dean of the L.A.-based human rights educational center, which has offices throughout the U.S., and in Canada, Europe, Israel and Argentina.

The invitation for Hier to speak came after Gov. George Bush and his wife, Laura, visited the Museum of Tolerance earlier this year.

As the convention got under way in Philadelphia, several religious leaders were asked to say a prayer before different sessions.

Weissberg touched on themes of freedom, hope and opportunity, and explored human destiny's continuing revolution. Hier planned to draw from the story of Anne Frank, the Dutch Jewish girl whose diary of her family's life in hiding from the Nazis has become famous around the world.

A media staffer for the convention said Weissberg and Hier, like all speakers, were chosen to represent the diversity of the party.

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