Opinion
The Pope And Israel
New York/JTA
W
hen his plane touched down
at Ben-Gurion International
Airport on May11, Pope
Benedict XVI became only the second
pope in the history of the Catholic Church
to officially visit the State of Israel.
Israeli, Jewish and Vatican leaders
expressed high hopes for a smooth visit
that would enhance the Catholic-Jewish
and Israel-Vatican relationships.
Yet almost from the minute he got off
the plane, Benedict's actions and words
were severely scrutinized, dissected and
criticized from all sides. This extraordi-
nary level of public and media scrutiny
has led to a series of controversies, expres-
sions of dismay and failed expectations by
some Israeli leaders.
It must be recognized that Benedict is
following in the footsteps of his predeces-
sor, the beloved Pope John Paul II, whose
groundbreaking pilgrimage in March 2000
hit all the right notes and captured the
hearts and minds of Jews and Catholics
around the world. From the get-go, it
was always going to be unfair to measure
Benedict's trip by John Paul's, especially
since Benedict has stepped into a roiling
political, religious and social climate that
is vastly changed from the more hopeful
regional environment just nine years ago.
It is not only the region that is different.
The two popes have vastly different per-
sonalities and public personas.
past, Benedict has talked about
Where the Polish-born John
his personal experiences as a
Paul II was a grand communica-
member of Hitler Youth and
tor, able to project his charm
the German army.
and personal story to a wide
Therefore, it would do us
audience, Benedict, a native of
well to keep things in perspec-
Germany, is a reserved theolo-
tive and recognize what this
gian who conveys a professorial
pope has said and done.
tone.
By coming to Israel at this
Prominent officials have
time, the 82-year-old pontiff
Abraham H.
sharply criticized Benedict's
is solidifying the Vatican's
Foxman
much-anticipated speech at the
formal relationship with the
Special
Yad Vashem Holocaust memori-
State of Israel, launched when a
Commentary
al for failing to live up to expec-
historic diplomatic agreement
tations. When Pope John Paul II
was signed in 1993. His trip
visited Yad Vashem he referenced the Nazis demonstrates the Church's commitment
by name, condemned the murder of mil-
to the security and survival of Israel as a
lions of victims and mourned the loss of
Jewish state.
his Jewish friends. He met at length with
Benedict is also establishing a track
30 Polish Jewish survivors.
record for future popes. No longer will
By contrast, Benedict failed to men-
Pope John Paul's journey be able to be
tion Nazis or Germany, as well as his own
portrayed as an aberration or a personal
personal history in Germany during the
mission. Indeed, Benedict's trip will insti-
war. He did not use the word murder and
tutionalize that every pope visit Israel
ignored the issue of Christian responsibil-
and commit the billion-member Roman
ity for the Holocaust. A historic opportu-
Catholic Church to the importance of
nity was squandered.
Israel as the Jewish state.
Yet a close examination of Benedict's
Benedict's voyage also demonstrates the
text and actions shows that he did deliver
continuity of the Church's commitment to
an appropriate speech focusing on the
enhance relations with the Jewish people.
concepts of remembrance. He also met
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was Pope
briefly with Holocaust survivors. It must
John Paul's chief theologian and, there-
be noted also that in recent months,
fore, the many positive improvements in
Benedict has made strong statements
Jewish-Catholic relations over the past three
repudiating Holocaust denial. And in the
decades were done in consultation with him.
To be sure, there are a series of out-
standing serious issues challenging the
Vatican-Jewish dialogue, including the
recent troubling regressions in Catholic
theology and liturgy about Judaism. Israel
and the Vatican also have complicated
property and tax issues to resolve.
However, the focus on this trip should be
in recognizing the positive contributions
of the current pope. Benedict has pledged
to keep strengthening Catholic-Jewish
relations and reaffirmed the Church's
unqualified repudiation of anti-Semitism
and Holocaust denial. He has taught that
Christians should gain a new respect for the
Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament.
And he has asserted that God's Covenant
and promises to the people of Israel are
alive and irrevocable, further demonstrat-
ing his belief that the Jewish people "are
beloved brothers and sisters."
While we believe that Jews must
remember and honor the past, we can-
not change it. What we can do is create a
future where Catholics and Jews deepen
and expand our dialogue and work
together with mutual respect and under-
standing in the interests of tikkun olam
(repair of the world).
Abraham H. Foxman is national director of the
Anti-Defamation League. A Holocaust survivor,
he was saved by his Polish Catholic nanny who
baptized him and raised him as a Catholic until
his parents returned after the war.
Jewish Matters from page B1
contemporaries.
Their learning came full circle when
they chanted, from memory, the first
Mishnah they ever learned in sixth grade
at the excavated ancient synagogue in
Tzippori where the Mishnah was codi-
fied. It came together at the Gilboa, the
place where King Saul threw himself on
his sword when they chanted, from the
Tanach, the lament of King David. Their
learning came together in the Old City, at
the Kotel and in the fields outside of Tel
Aviv when they harvested vegetables for
Table to Table, an organization that feeds
the hungry.
For two weeks. they traveled throughout
all of Israel, the place that connects them
to their roots, their history, their story and
their identity. They will leave Hillel with
an even greater tie to Israel, their Jewish
B2
May 28 • 2009
people and their Jewish religion — for
this is their story, their legacy, and their
destiny. And that matters.
It matters because being a Jew must
become a significant part of each person's
identity. Identity gives us a connection, a
story, a sense of belonging and meaning.
It matters because with this knowledge
and understanding comes an obligation, a
purpose for being.
While Jewish continuity is important,
what is it if it is not for a purpose? To just
be Jewish is not enough. To do Jewish is
our imperative. These 60 eighth-grad-
ers, like so many who graduated before
them, will live a Jewish life a purpose. The
overwhelming body of Jewish educational
research supports this assertion because
they are graduating a day school and have
gone on a trip to Israel. These 60 eighth-
graders, more than
their peers who did not
have this experience or
education, will marry
Jewish, actively sup-
port and defend Israel,
engage in patterns of
Jewish living and obser-
vance, support Jewish
institutions and assume
leadership roles.
Hillel students Samuel Kay and Evan Paul, both of
It matters if we
Farmington Hills, put notes in the Kotel.
believe that the Jewish
people, our values and
our story still have something to offer
to Israel really matters — to them, to each
ourselves, our families and the world and
of us and to our collective future. E
if belonging to a Jewish community and
supporting its infrastructure still have
Steve Freedman is head of school at Hillel Day
meaning. Then the nine years of a Hillel
School of Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington
education and the recent eighth-grade trip Hills.