During the week covered by this review, we received 3 articles on the following subjects:
The Pope and the Vatican
Archaeology
Anti-Semitism
The Pope and the Vatican
The Jerusalem Post, October 6, 2019; Israel Hayom, October 8, 2019
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, met with high-ranking Vatican diplomat, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, marking the 25th year anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican. Cardinal Sandri expressed appreciation for the freedom of worship experienced by Christians in the Holy Land, and also voiced the hope that Israel’s relationship with the Vatican could be of service in bringing an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Rivlin said that Israel wants to share land with the Palestinians, and asked Cardinal Sandri to send his regards to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Sandri is to visit next.
The second article was an interview with Cardinal Sandri, marking the shift that took place 25 years ago in the Vatican’s relationship with Israel. The Cardinal, who was once the right-hand man of Pope John Paul II, has been very much involved in the reconciliation process between Israel and the Holy See. In the interview, Sandri said: “We are responsible, as Christians, not only not to be anti-Semitic, but also to oppose anti-Semitism, because at the end of the day, we Christians and Jews have sprung from the same root.” Sandri further expressed admiration for what Israel has accomplished as a country since its establishment, especially in the areas of technology, education, and academia. He said that those who are blessed face the challenge of figuring out how to assist others who are left behind, and who have suffered from war and poverty. “We admire Israel,” he said, “and we see the power it has to be an example to other countries.”
Archeology
Shishi BaGolan, September 27, 2019
This article reported that a conference entitled, “The Sea of Galilee – Judaism and Christianity in the area surrounding the Kinneret”, was organized by the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archeology. The conference was mostly aimed at tour guides, with 300 planning to attend, as well as at researchers, archeologists, and historians. The focus was to be on the many archeological discoveries made in the Galilee of late, and the implications for the tourist industry. The article listed, by way of example of important digs: the Jewish village of Chorazin, mentioned in the New Testament as one of the places Jesus visited and abandoned in the 11th century, the “Church of the Apostles” recently discovered in Beit HaBek, and the village of Kursi, where the Miracle of the Swine is said to have taken place.