POPE BENEDICT XVI’s first day of his Holy Land pilgrimage yesterday was marred when he left an interfaith dialogue early following a virulent anti-Israel speech from a Muslim cleric.
The Palestinian Authority’s chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, called upon Muslims and Christians to unite against what he termed “the murderous Israelis”.
Taking the podium after the pope, even though he was not scheduled to address the gathering at the Catholic Notre Dame centre in Jerusalem, Tamimi accused Israel of murdering women and children in Gaza and making Palestinians refugees. He also declared Jerusalem the eternal Palestinian capital.
Following the outburst the pope left the event. Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, condemned the incident. “In a meeting dedicated to dialogue, this intervention was a direct negation of what it should be,” he said. “We hope that such an incident will not damage the mission of the Holy Father aiming at promoting peace and interfaith dialogue.” Prior to the Notre Dame incident attention had focused on the pope’s visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem where the pontiff laid a wreath on a stone slab covering ashes of holocaust victims and met briefly with a group of survivors.
The symbolism was poignant: a German pope, who like others his age was required to join both the Hitler Youth organisation and the Wehrmacht, at the world’s most famous Holocaust memorial.
Benedict spoke of the church’s “deep compassion” for the victims and promised to work to prevent such tragedies in the future, but some Israelis were critical that his speech didn’t go far enough.
Chairman of the Yad Vashem council, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, said he was disappointed. “Something was missing,” Mr Lau said.
“There was no mention of the Germans or the Nazis who participated in the butchery, nor a word of regret. Nor was there an expression of empathy with the sorrow.” There was also criticism that, in contrast to Pope John Paul II who visited the site in 2000, Pope Benedict did not ask for forgiveness.
The pontiff avoided mentioning two recent controversies that have strained the improving bilateral ties between Israel and the Vatican – the process of beatification for war-time Pope Pius XII, whom many Jews believe could have done more to confront the Nazis, and the Church’s short-lived attempt to reinstate Bishop Richard Williamson who denied the scope of the Holocaust.
Earlier, after being welcomed at Ben Gurion airport by president Shimon Peres following his short flight from Jordan, the pope said he would honour the memory of the six million victims killed in the holocaust and speak up against global anti-Semitism. “Anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head in many parts of the world. This is totally unacceptable. Every effort must be made to combat anti-Semitism wherever it is found,” the pontiff stated.
In comments welcomed by Palestinian officials, Pope Benedict reiterated the Vatican’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
With Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has failed to endorse Palestinian statehood, looking on, the pope said, “I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstanding difficulties, so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognized borders”.
In a clear reference to complaints from both Muslims and Christians that the Israeli authorities restrict freedom of movement between the West Bank and the capital, the pope also called for free access to Jerusalem for people of all religions.
The president said the pope was viewed in Israel as “a man of peace and a great spiritual leader.”
Pope Benedict said he wanted to assure Israelis that his pilgrimage to the holy places “is one of prayer for the precious gift of unity and peace for the Middle East and all of humanity”.
Today the pope will visit the Temple Mount, Islam’s third-holiest site, and the nearby Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. In the afternoon he will celebrate Mass in the Valley of Jehoshaphat opposite the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, where according to Christian tradition God will sit in divine judgment at the end of days.