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May 14, 2009
Exclusive: Making Up is Hard to Do – Jews and the Vatican
An editorial in Der Spiegel, the German newspaper, was harshly critical of Pope Benedict’s visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial.
“The pope never mentioned the culprits, or the German words engraved into the floor of the Hall of Remembrance at his feet: Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Majdanek, Theresienstadt. He said nothing about the church's position on the Holocaust, or about its history of anti-Semitism, which made the Shoah possible in the first place. Instead, he confined himself to mentioning the "deep compassion" of the Catholic Church for the victims.”
However, in the next sentence the authors equivocate:
“His next sentence could be interpreted by the malicious – who are not in short supply – as a qualification of the uniqueness of the Shoah: "Similarly, she draws close to all those who today are subjected to persecution on account of race, color, condition of life or religion."
Malicious interpretation? The Pope was in the hall commemorating a genocide unlike any other….one of every three Jews in the world was murdered. Frankly, whatever the intention, there is a hint of moral equivalence that is inappropriate to say the least.
However, equally inappropriate, in my opinion, was the response of many Israeli leaders, as reported by the Associated Press on May 12th:
“The Vatican defended the pope Tuesday from a growing chorus of Israeli critics who accused the German-born Benedict XVI of failing to express enough remorse for the Holocaust – a controversy that threatened to eclipse a papal pilgrimage aimed at building bridges between faiths.”
Remorse and apologies and the requisite “deep compassion” be damned! To favor the so-called two-state solution which threatens to dismember and destroy Israel by placing a terrorist, Jihad-driven state at its throat is what needs the apology. But then, his host, Israel’s elected President Shimon Peres and a gaggle of Israeli academics and serial appeasers also favor the suicide option. Well then, why not the Pope?
Why would the Vatican permit and the Pope countenance an “interfaith” meeting with Sheik Al-Tamimi? The always reliable investigative journalist Debbie Schlussel reports:
As the chief Palestinian judge and Muslim cleric, Al-Tamimi frequently appears on Palestinian Authority Television praising homicide bombers and spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and fatwas.
In 1994, Al-Tamimi said, "The Jews are destined to be persecuted, humiliated, and tortured forever, and it is a Muslim duty to see to it that they reap their due. No petty arguments must be allowed to divide us. Where Hitler failed, we must succeed."
In August 2003, Al-Tamimi, a personal friend of Yasser Arafat (who appointed him Chief Islamic Judge), was arrested for inciting terrorism. Al-Tamimi's extremist sermons are well-known for urging attacks on Israel and calling upon Arab nations to wage war. In March 2000, Al-Tamimi delivered a hate speech during the Pope's visit to Jerusalem, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "strangling Jerusalem." He called on Christians to join Muslims in a jihad to oust Jews from all of Israel.
For good measure, Schlussel adds:
“The Vatican was well aware of who Tamimi is and he didn't just jump on stage. He was seated there by the Vatican who arranged for the Pope to shake Al-Tamimi's hand as the Pope calmly left, after--not before or during--his speech.”
The Pope, to be fair, was hijacked by politics. His mission to the “Holy Land” should have been spiritual without commentary. The cradle of Christianity is in Israel….in Bethlehem, in Nazareth and in Jerusalem. Only Israel….repeat….only Israel… has maintained uninterrupted access and updated and restored all Christian shrines and churches. The Muslim Arabs have defaced, destroyed and defiled them as they have systematically oppressed Christians in all Arab lands.
There is a real mystery here.
Why does the Pope seek to accommodate those liberals who assault the church and its teachings? Who has insulted Catholics more than those who openly lobby for and abet an act that Catholics consider murder? Who makes Roe v. Wade a litmus test for appointments to the highest court? Who finds pedophiles under every pew without regard to the thousands of missionaries and clergy who have devoted themselves to bringing help and hope to victims throughout the world? Who has removed the Ten Commandments from all public buildings except the United States Supreme Court, where it remains sculpted in stone as foreseen by America’s founding fathers? Who has opposed public funding for Catholic schools even in neighborhoods where they are the only haven for disadvantaged youth? Who has attempted to remove religion from all public life, even from the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States?
Who? Why, the very same folks that draw moral equivalence between Israel and its tormentors. The very same folks that give Palestinian Arab perceived victimhood a very wide berth at the expense of Israel’s survival.
The Vatican should be sensitive to Jewish concerns but Jews must also understand how liberal cant offends Catholics’ deepest beliefs. Most important, we have the same enemies today.
Who sees all Christians and Jews as infidels who must be destroyed?
The answer is radical Islam, and if the Jews want an outstretched hand, they should also extend one in common cause to confront the common enemy.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Ruth S. King is a freelance writer who writes a monthly column in OUTPOST, the publication of Americans for a Safe Israel. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
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