Thank you for posting a more detailed article. I posted this article as it appeared earlier in Yediot Ahranot. I am Israeli. My home is in Netanya. I see a lot of reaction without much thought. Here is my take on the article.
The Pope gave a sermon. In it he condemned every major terrorist attack which had occurred in the previous two weeks save one: the suicide bomb attack in Netanya. Those of us who live here have to ask why and point out the effect, perhaps unintended, of the Pope's omission.
The Catholic Church has a long history of taking the Palestinian's side in the conflict. Yes, Pope John Paul II took some courageous steps to heal rifts between the Catholic and Jewish communities and I, for one, do appreciate that. However, his statements against Israeli government actions to defend our people were troubling.
Now we have a new Pope. His views on the Middle East are, so far, unknown. Nobody, not the Foreign Ministry, not the writers at Yediot Ahranot, none except a few overreacting here on FR, are calling the Pope and anti-Semite. He has done nothing to deserve that. The real problem is that he made what, in my view, is a serious omission with serious consequences. This can be corrected and that is all the Foreign Ministry wants. That is all I, as a Jew and as an Israeli, want. Asking that does NOT make us anti-Catholic or bigots.
All we want is acknowledgement that our dead and injured are as valuable all all the other dead and injured. All terrorism is evil and should be treated as such.
You are very welcome.