[Iscool]

Interesting tidbits in this Israeli newspaper...

Not everyone in Israel is as enthralled with the pope however; Rabbi Yonatan Shtenzel told Arutz Sheva on Wednesday that the pope knows where Jewish vessels and treasures from the Second Temple are kept in the Vatican, but is hiding them in an act of "diplomatic evasion."

Abbas and Peres are expected to be accompanied by imams and rabbis and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, a top Orthodox leader, could also join in.

The meeting follows a controversial visit from the Vatican, which included a questionable set of political decisions which give legitimacy to the PA, as well as outrage over a rumored deal to transfer King David's Tomb to the Vatican - either in part or in whole.

[ansel12]

the pope knows where Jewish vessels and treasures from the Second Temple are kept in the Vatican, but is hiding them in an act of "diplomatic evasion."

Good luck trying to get gold and riches from the Vatican vaults.

[jjotto]

It’s actually more likely that the First Temple vessels are still hidden around Jerusalem and those would be the ones used in a rebuilt Temple. Probably new ones would be required. Such items would get heavy use.

There would have to be an explanation for where Second Temple items were held through the upheavals in Rome until the Church became a formidable institution, which wasn’t until hundreds of years after the destruction of the Temple.

[Karl Spooner]

"as well as outrage over a rumored deal to transfer King David's Tomb to the Vatican - either in part or in whole."

I guess if he couldn't get Moses's bones, he'll have to settle for David's...