Rabbis, Jewish organizations, criticize Pope Francis for saying Israel should be investigated for ‘genocide’

‘According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,’ Pope Francis is quoted as saying.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Rabbis and Jewish organizations are pushing back against a statement by Pope Francis that Israel “should be investigated for genocide.”

The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis, B’nai B’rith and The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) expressed disapproval and dismay over the Pontiff’s remarks.

In a recently published book, Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World, were excerpted quotes quotes attributed to the Vatican pontiff in which he is said to have cited claims by “some experts” accusing Israel of genocide, and backing an investigation of IDF war conduct.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Pope Francis is quoted as saying.

“We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

Pope Francis has already publicly criticized Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah, calling the IDF’s actions “excessive” and “immoral.”

“Defense must always be proportionate to the attack,” the pope told reporters on September 29th.

“When there is something disproportionate, one shows a tendency to dominate which goes beyond what is moral,” he continued.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) offered sharp criticism of the Pope’s remarks:
“The State of Israel is currently facing a war of intended annihilation on seven fronts, and these remarks look like a possible opening of an eighth front, from of all places, the Vatican, which can also lead to the spilling of Jewish blood around the world,” said the organization’s CEO, Sacha Roytman Dratwa.

“For a Pope who appears to prize even-handedness and peace, we see that the Jewish State once again appears to be the exception. We had hoped after Nostra Aetate in 1965 that the Jewish People would be seen as equal to all others around the world by the Catholic hierarchy, but these claims suggest otherwise, and out of all the conflicts and real genocides around the world, the national homeland of the Jewish People is once again singled out as a target for opprobrium.”

B’nai B’rith International, one of oldest and most widely known Jewish organizations, also commented on Pope Francis’ remarks.

“Pope Francis’ mention of ‘some experts’ falsely accusing Israel of genocide is gratuitous and damaging,” B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel Mariaschin and Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David J. Michaels said in a joint statement. “The suffering of noncombatants in Gaza has been not just prompted but engineered by Hamas, while Israel has done more to try to limit harm to an enemy’s surrounding civilians than any party to warfare in history.”

Over a year of fighting in Gaza “have not yielded mass civilian fatalities in Gaza relative to wars elsewhere,” Mariaschin said and noted that similar conflicts have a much higher civilian death toll.

CJV President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld said in a statement: ‘The accusation of “genocide” against Israel is not merely risible, but was created by Jew-haters anxious to cover for the atrocities committed by the Hamas terror organization and its declared intent to implement Hitler’s Final Solution.”