Pope Francis: Making Sense of a Whirlwind Middle East Tour
Ehrenberg says the photo-op in front of the Israeli security fence “can be interpreted as some kind of a PR coup for the Palestinians” but that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the issue when he spoke to the pope “and explained that the fence was built particularly to prevent the acts of terror that the international community is so against.”
“It’s not because Israel wanted to build it there,” Ehrenberg says of the fence. “It was forced upon Israel by terrorist attacks. [Netanyahu] showed the Pope the plaque remembering the horrific terrorist attacks that were perpetrated [at the AMIA Jewish center] in Buenos Aires, which the pope knows only all too well.”
Platania says, “This pope is coming across as very charismatic, very people-oriented. Some people think that’s great. Other people think he has an agenda. Praying at the security wall was a sign of peace, but I wonder if he wanted to come across as exposing the wall and Israeli policy.”
Even “the best of our friends, eventually even with the best intentions, may want to use that friendliness, the diplomatic efforts, smiles and phone calls to rabbis to help promote their own agendas,” Platania explains.
A longer-term issue between Israel and the Vatican relates to valuable Jewish artifacts dating back to the period of the First Temple in Jerusalem and believed to be held in Vatican archives that have been off-limits to Jewish leaders.
“The issue of artifacts is a big deal,” Platania says. “Many people have asked to visit the archive and have been denied. It is believed that there are a lot of items that belong to Jewish heritage on all levels—things that could potentially be from the Temple, but even if they are not, still belong to the Jewish people and could be given back.”
Returning the items, according to Platania, would be an “amazing act of reconciliation and friendship.”
Yet the Israeli government appears patient on the artifacts issue and is hopeful that there is much to be gained by improving relations with the Vatican. Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, accepted an invitation from the pope to pray for peace at the Vatican. That gathering is scheduled for June 6.
“The relationships certainly will continue and will deepen,” Ehrenberg says. “Shimon Peres is going to visit the pope in two weeks, so let’s see where that leads.”
For the original article, visit jns.org.
