Israel,
the Vatican and Anti-Semitism
From
Clemens N Nathan
Israel
asked the Vatican’s "immediate intervention"
in stopping the rising incidents of anti-semitism around
the world.
Last
October, Israeli Secretary Yitzhak Herzog asked the Holy
See, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to Israel,
to confront the recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks.
A
statement from Herzog’s office said the conversation
followed a special Israeli Cabinet meeting held a day earlier
on the subject of the attacks. Herzog, who also is the Secretary
of the Committee Against Anti-Semitism and Chairman of the
government’s Inter-Faith Dialogue Forum, stressed the
importance of taking a "clear and unequivocal stand
against anti-Semitism".
Herzog
referred to the 1994 agreement signed by Israel and the
Vatican regarding the curbing of anti-Semitism. Full Vatican-Israeli
diplomatic relations were established in 1994.
"The
Holy See should take a leading role in challenging the spread
of anti-Semitism around the world", Herzog said. "The
Israeli government sees its role as ensuring that Jews are
not threatened or harmed because of their religion and calls
on the enlightened nations to meet this challenge."
Archbishop
Sambi declined to comment on the conversation.
After
the recent flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, tensions
ran high in some European countries, especially France,
where there is a significant Arab immigrant population.
Jewish worshippers leaving their synagogues in France were
the target of stone-throwing, and attackers set fire to
several synagogues.
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