Pope Benedict XVI is no friend of the Jewish people. Though his visits to Israel will still be welcome, he has demonstrated a lack of empathy and understanding of us and our history. Benedict's unwillingness to confront the infamous legacy of his predecessor Pope Pius XII constitutes a block in Vatican-Jewish relations.
The responses of Israeli journalist Tom Segev and MK Reuven Rivlin to the Pope's lackluster visit to Yad Vashem were appropriate and well-articulated. The Pope spoke like "somebody observing from the sidelines, about things that shouldn't happen...He was part of them," Rivlin said, referring to Benedict's enrollment in the Hitler Youth during World War II.
Rachel Donadio successfully reports on a disappointing moment in Catholic-Jewish reconciliation.
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