Israel presses Pope on Holocaust

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Israel has called on Pope Benedict XVI to condemn Holocaust skeptics ahead of the pontiff's visit to the Holocaust memorial during his Mideast tour.

In a letter to the Pope, Israeli Minister of Religious Affairs Yaakov Margi expressed hope that he would "clearly condemn the purveyors of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, some of whom profess loyalty to your Church."

He said the Pope's visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial scheduled for Monday would give the Vatican the opportunity to "unequivocally condemn and distance itself from Holocaust deniers."

On the other hand, the Coalition for Jerusalem, an alliance of pro-Palestinian groups, on Thursday urged him in an open letter to denounce "yet another wave of Israel's ethnic cleansing crimes" against their people.

The German Pope has recently gone under attack for lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying British bishop and is repeatedly criticized for backing beatification of his wartime predecessor Pius XII who the Jews accuse of failing to speak out against the Holocaust.

Benedict arrived in Jordan on Friday on his first trip as pontiff to an Arab state, where he expressed his deep respect for Islam, while stressing the right to religious freedom.

On Monday, the Pope is due to step on the red carpet in the occupied West Bank. The Catholic leader will also visit the city of Bethlehem on Wednesday before he concludes his eight-day trip to the occupied West Bank on May 15.

http://www.presstv.ir/classic/detail.as ... =351020202

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and the BBc's take on it;

Pope begins Mid-East pilgrimage

Pope Benedict XVI stressed his "deep respect" for Islam as he arrived in Jordan to begin a Middle East visit.

He described religious freedom as a fundamental human right, and said he hoped the Catholic Church could play a role in the Middle East peace process.

The Pope says he is going on his eight-day tour - his first to the region as pontiff - as a "pilgrim of peace".

But Jordanian Islamist leaders have demanded that he apologise for a speech in 2006 that linked Islam and violence.

After Jordan, the Pope's tour will take him to Israel and the West Bank.

   
David Willey
David Willey,
BBC News, Amman:



Over the next week the Pope plans to make no fewer than 28 speeches.

He will have to tread carefully as he addresses very varied audiencies of Christians, Muslims and Jews, all eager to pick over his words.

The Pope is being deliberately even-handed as he begins to traverse what amounts to a potential verbal minefield.

He was met at the airport in Amman by Jordan's King Abdullah, Queen Rania and Muslim and Christian leaders.

The BBC's David Willey says the Jordanian royal couple broke protocol to greet the Pope in person. Normally the monarchs do not go to the airport to welcome visitors.

A Jordanian army band with bagpipes and drums played the Vatican and Jordanian national anthems before the Pope and King Abdullah inspected the honour guard.

King Abdullah welcomed the Pope to "the heartland of faiths for Christians and Muslims alike".

The 82-year-old Pope praised Jordan's "respect for religion".

The visit, he said, "gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community, and to pay tribute to the leadership shown by His Majesty the King in promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam.

He added: "Religious freedom is of course a fundamental human right and it is my fervent hope and prayer that respect for the inalienable rights and dignity of every man and woman will come to be increasingly affirmed and defended, not only throughout the Middle East, but in every part of the world."

Creating dialogue

The Pope's visit is aimed at encouraging the minority Christian community in the Middle East, and creating a better dialogue with Muslims and Jews.

As head of the Roman Catholic Church, he is seeking to strengthen ties with Jewish and Muslim leaders after offending believers of both religions in the past three years.

In 2006, Pope Benedict infuriated Muslims with a speech linking the Prophet Muhammad with violence.
   

The Pope should apologise for angering 1.5 billion Muslims, otherwise he is not welcome
Zaki Bani Rsheid
Islamic Action Front chief



He later said he was "deeply sorry" over the reaction to the remarks and that the passage he quoted did not reflect his own opinion.

But in Jordan, the opposition Islamic Action Front party said the pontiff was not welcome unless he offered an outright apology.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says that anonymous jihadis have called for Pope Benedict's assassination during his stay in Jordan, branding him "the enemy of Islam".

Passive stance

More recently, the German-born Pope offended Jewish leaders by lifting the ex-communication of a Holocaust-denying bishop.

Many in Israel have also been angered by the proposed sainthood of Pope Pius XII, reviled by some Jews for his passive stance during the Holocaust.

During the visit - which includes a stop in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank - Pope Benedict is expected to deliver a plea for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and for the establishment of a Palestinian homeland.

But his main aim is to give hope and encouragement to the rapidly diminishing minority Christian community in the Middle East.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 039383.stm

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Israeli MK: "The Pope, holocaust denier, not welcome in Israel"

Member of Knesset, Michael Ben Ari, of the National Union right wing religious party, stated Tuesday that the Pope Benedict XVI, scheduled to arrive in the region next week, is not welcome in Israel as he is "a holocaust denier and a former member of the Nazi's Youth Movement".

MK Michael Ben Ari
MK Michael Ben Ari

Ari added that if Israel welcomes the Pope it would be ignoring millions of Jews killed by the Nazis as the "Pope was a member of the Hitler Youth".

 The MK also called on Israeli members of Knesset to rethink the visit, and added that MK's should not welcome the Pope in the country.

Furthermore, Ari stated that when Benedict XVI was elected as the Pope, he "brought back to the Catholic Church, priests to deny the Holocaust and renewed the accusation that the Jews murdered Jesus", Haaretz stated,

He added that the Knesset House Committee prevented the discussion of this issue and slammed the right wing Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party and other ultra-Orthodox parties for not backing his statements.

Ari also accused the Catholic Church of being driven by anti-Semitic motivations.

Kadima MK, Roni Bar-On, stated that the statement of the Ari could cause serious conflicts and set the Middle East ablaze.

It is worth mentioning that Ari is a former member of the Kach movement which is outlawed by Israel and considered regarded by the country as a terrorist group.  

http://www.imemc.org/article/60251