Pope Francis has sparked criticism from Jewish groups who think he equated Hamas and Israel with “terrorism” in his comments on the Israeli-Palestinian war.
The pope met with Jewish families whose relatives were kidnapped by Hamas, and Palestinians whose families were still in Gaza. He said to a crowd in St. Peter’s Square that he saw the suffering of both sides, saying, “This is what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism.”
However, the Vatican denied that the pope used the word “genocide” to describe the situation, as some Palestinians who met with him claimed.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, “I am not aware that he used such a word.”
On Monday 20 November, U.S. officials rejected the accusations of mass genocide by Israel.
“Israel is not trying to wipe the Palestinian people off the map. Israel is not trying to wipe Gaza off the map. Israel is trying to defend itself against a genocidal terrorist threat,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) urged the Vatican to “clarify” the pope’s words.
The AJC said in a statement on X (Formerly Twitter) that it appreciated the pope’s meeting with the hostage families but added, “Later in the day, he described the Israel-Hamas war as ‘beyond war,’ as ‘terrorism.’ Hamas’ butchering and kidnapping of civilians is terrorism. Israel’s self-defense is not. Vatican, please clarify.”
The Council of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis seemed to accuse the pope of “publicly accusing both sides of terrorism.”
It said some “Church leaders” did not condemn the Hamas attack and said they were “putting the aggressor and the attacked on the same plane in the name of a supposed impartiality.”
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The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization based in the U.S., wrote on its website, “It is important for one of the world’s primary faith leaders, for whom people of all faiths look to spiritual and moral guidance, not to forget that all those who came to speak and seek solace from him, all their suffering, all their loss, are on the hands of the Hamas terrorists who, on October 7th, inflicted in the most brutal way, the worst mass murder of Jews since the defeat of Nazi Germany and World War II.”
On October 7, Hamas gunmen launched a surprise attack across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 and taking around 240 hostages, according to Israel.
Reuters reported that health authorities in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, said that more than 14,000 people have died there as a result of Israeli military action.
A temporary pause in the fighting has been agreed to start today (November 24) in a deal that will see 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners freed.
Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
