Pope Francis Responds to Jewish Community Amidst Gaza Conflict

"The war in Gaza has also produced divisive attitudes in public opinion worldwide, which sometimes result in forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism." Pope Francis took pen and paper to address the Jews living in Israel in a letter responding to last November's appeal when over 400 rabbis and Jewish intellectuals explicitly asked him to denounce to the world "the hateful denial of Israel and the Jews being made and to reaffirm Israel's right to exist" and also condemn "unequivocally the terrorist massacre of Hamas aimed at killing as many civilians as possible, and to distinguish this massacre from the civilian victims of Israel's self-defence war, however tragic and heartbreaking they may be." "Our Ground Zero in Sderot", a witness tells of Hamas terrorists' hunt for Jews, on 7/10 as during Nazism. The Pope's reply, which arrived almost a month later, relies on the Jewish-Christian journey based on conciliar documents, assuring of course that his heart is close to the Holy Land "and to all the peoples who inhabit it, Israelis and Palestinians, and I pray that the desire for peace prevails over all. I want you to know that you are close to my heart and to the heart of the Church". There is no clear and open censure against Hamas and the systematic anti-Semitic indoctrination (even on Palestinian children) that all Jews should be exterminated. Francis prefers to rely on more diplomatic and neutral formulas: "Together with you, we Catholics are very concerned about the terrible increase in attacks against Jews worldwide. We had hoped that "never again" would be a refrain heard by new generations, yet now we see that the path to be taken requires ever closer collaboration to eradicate these phenomena (...) I can only reiterate what my Predecessors have clearly stated many times: the relationship that binds us to you is special and unique, without ever obscuring, of course, the relationship that the Church has with others and the commitment also towards them. The journey that the Church has started with you, the ancient people of the covenant, rejects all forms of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, unequivocally condemning manifestations of hatred towards Jews and Judaism, as a sin against God". Finally, the Pope assures prayers for the return home of the 130 hostages (including dozens of children) who are still in the hands of terrorists, kidnapped during the pogrom of October 7th. "I also want to add that we must never lose hope for a possible peace and that we must do everything to promote it, rejecting any form of defeatism and distrust". Only last week, on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni highlighted the disappointment that is creeping into the Jewish and rabbinic world over the Church's attitude towards the Gaza issue. The message from Pope Francis was greatly appreciated by the American Jewish Committee at "a tense time in relations between Jews and Catholics. The letter is addressed to Jews traumatised by the massacre of October 7th, its consequences and the need to bring all the hostages home for whom the Pope offers his prayers. Equally important in the message is the addressing of the explosion of anti-Semitism condemned as a sin".