Fraternal solidarity with the people of the Covenant

By Roberto Cetera

A group of over 400 rabbis and scholars engaged in dialogue between Jews and Christians have written an open letter to Pope Francis about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Among the signatories are Rabbi Yitzi Greenberg, one of the most authoritative theologians in Jewish-Christian dialogue, Ami-Jill Levine, who has taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Paula Fredriksen, Mark Bretler, and famous rabbis such as Yehiel Roupko and David Rosen.

In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, Professor Karma Ben Johanan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explained the meaning and essential contents of the letter.

"I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that our open letter is not a criticism but, on the contrary, an expression of trust,” she said. “It is written based on trust in the strong friendship that our communities have built over the last sixty years, ensuring the resilience of our friendship in difficult times as well as in times of peace. The initiative to write a letter to Pope Francis arises from the shock, pain, and suffering that struck us, rabbis, scholars, and religious leaders engaged in Jewish-Christian dialogue, in the aftermath of the terrible massacre perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October. These feelings were accompanied by a deep sense of solitude, fueled by the wave of antisemitism that has spread worldwide and that we did not believe could still occur in our times. We are convinced that this solitude can be supported by the comfort of the Catholic Church, with whom we have worked for many years. We drafted the text from Israel, the United States, and Europe, but immediately, the endorsements extended worldwide. And I believe this testifies to the goodness of the dialogue we have built everywhere with Christian communities, aware that, in this dark hour for us, there are friends to whom we can turn with hope and trust."

The letter to Pope Francis begins with a reconstruction of the deadly attack on 7 October, which led to the killing of approximately 1,200 civilians and the abduction of 240 women, men, and children.

"This massacre was the most horrific attack on Jews since the Holocaust," it affirms.

But the letter notes that "Hamas’s genocidal crime… was celebrated by many people from all over the world, and justified as a legitimate act of resistance for Palestinian liberation,” notes the letter. “Many have gone far beyond the limits of political criticism against Israeli policy by voicing protest against Israel’s right to exist.”

The consequences of these positions " invoke great anxiety among us for our future".

“We acknowledge with appreciation that His Holiness, as well as some cardinals and bishops, have expressed themselves on this issue several times by reiterating their renunciation of antisemitism and affirming Israel’s right to defend itself,” reads the letter. “We also share the Church’s grief for Palestinian civilians who fell under Hamas’s rule against their will, and were killed as a result of the war without committing any crime. As His Holiness emphasized on 8 October, ‘every war is a defeat’ (Angelus Prayer), and the war’s most tragic cost is the loss of innocent lives.”

The letter then proceeds with a further consideration.

“We also understand that the Church seeks to maintain political neutrality on the War in the Middle East, in which so many powers are involved, due to diplomatic considerations.”

Nevertheless, continues the open letter to Pope Francis, “we ask the Church to act as a beacon of moral and conceptual clarity amid an ocean of disinformation, distortion and deceit; to distinguish between legitimate political criticism on Israel's policy in the past and in the present and between hateful negation of Israel and of Jews; to reaffirm Israel’s right to exist.”

The letter concludes by evoking the bond between Jews and Christians.

“We call our Catholic siblings to extend a hand in solidarity to the Jewish community throughout the world, in the spirit of the Church’s ‘genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant’.”