• Palestinians Appeal To Pope For Help In Land Disputes With Israel
    0 replies, posted
[URL="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/05/23/314924647/palestinians-appeal-to-pope-for-help-in-land-disputes-with-israel"]NPR Link[/URL] [quote=NPR]"We said [the] Christian community is in danger. And if Israel will continue taking our land, most of our people will leave," Shomali says. He believes the pope raised the issue with Benjamin Netanyahu, when Israel's prime minister visited Rome last year. But Suhail Khalileh doesn't think private political talk is enough. He monitors Israeli construction for the Palestinian Applied Research Institute. He doubts the Vatican is willing to push the Cremisan Valley issue publicly. "They are not willing, I would say, to go into a political fight with Israel," he says. That's because those long-running property negotiations between the Vatican and Israel include questions about taxing commercial activities on church land, Khalileh says. But something else might be at play beyond the threat of taxes, says priest Jamal Khadar. He thinks the pope would keep any lobbying discreet as part of prioritizing fragile interfaith relationships. After centuries of Jewish-Christian scars, the Vatican recognized Israel only 20 years ago. Khadar says the Vatican wants no confrontations now. "Not even diplomatic confrontation with Israel," he says, "because the issue of Catholic-Jewish relations is so important for the church." Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate, the major Jerusalem diocese, says any speculation is silly. It's simple: The Holy See rarely gets involved in local church affairs because there would be no end. "It doesn't interfere directly because the Vatican counts 1 billion, 200 million Catholics spread over five continents," says Shomali, who is a cousin of Father Ibrahim Shomali. He is sure Pope Francis supports the local church in its efforts to reroute Israel's security barrier, saying the Vatican has "never, ever" told local church leaders to lower their voices or back off a fight. Israeli officials say the route of the barrier has come up in government discussions with the Vatican, although they won't say whether Francis actually brought it up with Netanyahu. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor says the Vatican has as much influence as any other "friendly" state. [/quote]
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.