The chief Rabbi in Rome harshly criticized the Pope for his recent remarks on Israel. His scathing rant was given at the 36th annual World Day of Catholic-Jewish Dialogue. Pope Francis has faced sharp criticism from both the Israeli Government and their supporters for his remarks on the military campaign in Gaza. Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni expressed his anger with the Pope’s unfair treatment of the topic.
He says that Francis has unduly focused on Israel compared to other ongoing world conflicts. The rabbi drew attention to violence in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Ethiopia. Di Segni has acted as the spiritual leader of Rome’s Jewish community since 2001. He stated that “A pope cannot divide the world into children and stepchildren and must denounce the sufferings of all.”
“Selective indignation … weakens the pope’s strength,” he announced “This is exactly what the Pope does not do.” We reported how Pope Francis accused Israel of “cruelty” regarding its treatment of Gazans. He added “And with pain, I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty.”
It is now known which exact events the Pope was referring to. Palestinian users post atrocities constantly to social media and it can be difficult to identify any one incident. While addressing the members of government and the Holy See, the pope also accused Israel of cruelty, saying, “Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty; this is not war.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said “Cruelty is when terrorists hide behind children while attempting to murder Israeli children; cruelty is when 100 hostages, including a baby and children, are held and mistreated by terrorists for 442 days… Unfortunately, the pope has chosen to ignore all of this.” He also complained “Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people,”
Another Israeli found the Pontiff’s comments “particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7.” The same spokesman said the IDF has not identified what the Pope was referring to. They also deny that the civilian casualties are inappropriate.
Pope Francis has condemned the actions of the State of Israel multiple times since the start of the Israel-Hamas War. Francis stated, “ According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide.” He also asked for a “careful investigation” of Israeli military actions. He has previously described the behavior of the IDF as “a massacre” and ” terrorism.”
In recent years, relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish community have improved. Previous centuries were marked by animosity between the two groups. The rabbis’ remarks were delivered at an event, held at a Catholic university, to celebrate warming relations. One of the organizers of the recent interfaith conference said he felt “discomfort” at the rabbi’s words. Rev. Marco Gnavi said, “You can’t ask us not to suffer both with you and with others.”