Pope Francis has been quoted as saying:
“Whoever does not recognize the Jewish people and the State of Israel is guilty of anti-Semitism.”
in an interview with a Portuguese journalist.
And on Wednesday the Pope met with leaders of the World Jewish Congress where he was quoted as saying
“To attack Jews is anti-Semitism, but an outright attack on the State of Israel is also anti-Semitism. There may be political disagreements between governments and on political issues, but the State of Israel has every right to exist in safety and prosperity,”
At a time when anti-semitic attacks flourish it is good to hear the Pope so forcefully speak out for the right of Israel to exist and for its citizens to live without fear of a rocket, a knife or some other attack on innocent civilians.
Such activity is killing innocent people such as peace activist Richard Lakin.
An American educator who marched for civil rights in the 1960s and advocated coexistence between Muslims and Jews when he moved to Israel died Tuesday after succumbing to wounds sustained in a Palestinian attack on a bus in Jerusalem two weeks ago.
....
Richard Lakin, 76, died of wounds sustained on Oct. 13 when two Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers. It was one of the bloodiest attacks in recent violence in which Palestinian attackers killed 11 Israelis. In that time, 55 Palestinians have been killed, including 35 identified by Israel as attackers and the rest in clashes with security forces.
....
Lakin was originally from Newton, Massachusetts, and a longtime principal in Glastonbury, Connecticut. His Facebook page displayed an image of Israeli and Arab kids hugging under the word "coexist."
Micah Avni said his father was a beloved educator and author of a book on teaching. He was an elementary school principal in the U.S. and taught English in mixed classes of Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem after moving to Israel in 1984.
It is well past time for all violence in the area to cease and it is heartening to hear the Pope express so well the basic rights of a people and their nation.