 |
|
The pope had condemned Israel's separation wall as "new obstacle to peace"
|
By Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent
PARIS, April 28 (IslamOnline.net) –
A leader of the Jewish community in France accused Pope John II of
siding with "Muslim extremists" after the pontiff turned
down an invitation to visit an Italian Jewish synagogue because of
Israeli military aggressions in occupied Palestinian territories.
The
Catholic Church sided with extremists in the Islamic world, a
situation not much different from that of Hamas which deems every Jew
a Zionist marked for death, Clement Weill-Raynal told the French
Jewish community radio on Tuesday, April 27.
It
is a scandal that could not be ignored, he added.
Raynal
urged the French people to condemn the Pope's position, questioning
the link between a Jewish synagogue or Italian Jews and the Israeli
policy.
Fearing
Bias
The
83-year-old pope had visited the same synagogue in 1968 – in what
was then considered a historic development in Christian-Jewish
relations.
However,
the pontiff turned down an invitation he received on May 23 to attend
celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of synagogue,
the oldest in Europe.
The
Vatican Press office said a participation in the celebration could
fearfully have been interpreted in the Islamic world as siding with
one side, in reference to Israel.
It
added that the Vatican would send two senior cardinals to represent
the pope instead.
Vatican
officials said the current situation in the Middle East, particularly
the heightened state of tension between Israelis and Palestinians and
the invasion of Iraq convinced papal aides to advise against a visit
to the synagogue.
On
April 11, the pope has issued an Easter condemnation of terrorism and
urged world leaders to bring peace to Iraq and other flashpoints.
In
November, the pontiff slammed the Israeli separation wall as a
"new
obstacle to peace" and underlined that the Middle East
"does not need walls but bridges".
A
recent U.N.
report underlined that the wall marked illegal annexation of
Palestinian territory and must be condemned by the world community.
The
pope also implicitly condemned the Israeli assassination
of Hamas leader in Gaza
Abdelaziz Rantissi on April 17.
"I
am following with great sadness the tragic news coming from the Holy
Land and Iraq. The shedding of blood by brothers must end. Such
inhuman acts are contrary to the will of God," he said.
The
pope did not mention Rantissi by name but authorities here said he was
referring to the killing of the Palestinian leader.
In
the run-up to the Iraq invasion, the Vatican warned the United States not
to "irritate a billion Muslims" by launching military
invasion against the Arab Muslim country.
Pope
John Paul II on January 17, exhorted
Christians, Muslims and Jews to burry the hatchet and work in tandem
to rid the world of never-ending wars.
