Israeli politicians from right and left are set to raise allegations of anti-semitism during the pope's visit, writes MARK WEISSfrom Jerusalem
AFTER THREE days in Jordan, Pope Benedict arrives in Israel today where he can be certain that every sentence he utters will be closely monitored by both his Israeli and Palestinian hosts, and the hundreds of journalists and thousands of pilgrims accompanying him on his Holy Land pilgrimage.
After arriving at Ben Gurion airport the pope will fly by helicopter to Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives, his base during the five-day visit which also takes in Nazareth in the Galilee and Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Speaking on Saturday in Jordan, the pope said that his visit to the Middle East was “a reminder of the inseparable bond between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people”, but a variety of groups in Israel voiced criticism ahead of the pontiff’s arrival.
Israel’s religious services minister Yakov Margi called on the pope to unequivocally condemn anti-Semites during his visit today to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum. The minister wrote in a letter to Pope Benedict that some Holocaust- deniers “take refuge under the Holy See or believe in the path represented by the Church”.
Israeli politicians from both the right and left voiced opposition to the papal visit.
Michael Ben Ari , a member of the Knesset parliament from the right-wing National Union party, convened a meeting of activists during which the German-born pope was labelled an “anti-Semite” and “an enemy of the Jewish people”. The forum asked Israel’s two chief rabbis, who will host Pope Benedict tomorrow, to demand from him an apology “for crimes committed by Christians against Jews over the course of history”.
During his visit to the Holocaust museum, the pope will lay a wreath to the victims and meet with a group of survivors and a man honoured by Yad Vashem for sheltering Jews during the war. But he will avoid visiting inside the museum where a photo exhibit criticises Pope Pius XII for failing to do enough to stop the Holocaust.
Nitzan Horowitz, a Knesset member representing the left-wing opposition Meretz party, announced he would boycott all events involving the pope to protest at the visitor’s conservative attitudes.
Horowitz argued that Pope Benedict “bears a message of rigidness, religious extremism and imperviousness”, citing his opposition to distributing condoms in the Third World as an example.
There has also been criticism from Islamic groups still upset over comments made by the pope in 2006 in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor who said the Prophet Mohammed had introduced “evil and inhuman” ideas into the world.
Yesterday Israeli police detained two Muslims in Nazareth on suspicion of distributing pamphlets against the papal visit.
On Saturday police arrested two East Jerusalem Palestinians close to the Temple Mount, where Pope Benedict will visit tomorrow. The two had hundreds of pamphlets calling on Muslims to boycott the visit.
Israel is mounting one of its biggest security operations in recent years deploying some 80,000 police and security guards for the visit. Undercover agents will also participate in Operation White Robe to ensure that the papal pilgrimage passes off smoothly.
The pope has agreed to a request from Israeli president Shimon Peres to meet today Noam Shalit, father of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Both the president and the soldier’s father expressed the hope that the pontiff will be able to obtain a sign of life from Gilad, who was seized by Palestinian militants in a raid on the Gaza-Israel border almost three years ago.
Addressing 20,000 people in an open-air Mass in Jordan yesterday, the pope urged Christians in the Middle East to preserve their faith despite hardships. In the crowd were Christians from Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and refugees who fled Iraq after a series of attacks on the Christian community by Islamic gunmen following the US-led 2003 war.
“The Catholic community here is deeply touched by the difficulties and uncertainties which affect the people of the Middle East,” Pope Benedict said, speaking in English at the Mass.
“May you never forget the great dignity which derives from your Christian heritage, or fail to sense the loving solidarity of all your brothers and sisters in the church throughout the world,” he said.
Similar messages of encouragement are expected when the pope visits Bethlehem on Wednesday. The numbers of Palestinian Christians have dwindled to about 50,000 in a total population of around 3.75 million in the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinian Authority officials blame the Israeli occupation and restrictions on movement and access for the decline of the generally well-educated and middle class community.
Israel highlights the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, citing a number of attacks by Muslim extremists against local Christians.