Among the many expressions of condolence from heads of state and government for the death of Pope Francis , the silence of Benjamin Netanyahu is making waves, certifying the frost between Israel and the Vatican following the Pontiff's continued stance in favor of the population of Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister was one of the very few world leaders who did not pay homage to the Holy Father on the day of his death . In addition, the Foreign Ministry deleted a post published on social media: "Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing." And it ordered that all condolence posts published by Israeli embassies around the world be deleted .
The ministry's order sparked a wave of outrage among Israeli diplomats, who shared their anger and dismay in the Foreign Ministry's internal WhatsApp groups, denouncing " the grave damage to Israel's image in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Catholic faithful around the world ."
"We are deleting a simple, harmless post that expresses basic condolences, it is clear to everyone that it is only because of the Pope's criticism of the war in Gaza," one of them explicitly stated.
Relations between the Pope and Israel have been shattered over the past year and a half, due to Tel Aviv's response, considered disproportionate by Bergoglio, to the terrorist attack by Hamas.
In a November 2023 phone call, a month after the Hamas massacre, Bergoglio told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that it was “forbidden to respond to terror with terror.” Hundreds of Jewish leaders and scholars wrote an open letter to Francis, calling on the Church to unequivocally condemn Hamas’s attacks and to distinguish terrorism from the war against terrorists. The pontiff waited three months before responding, it was noted in Israel, with a letter condemning anti-Semitism, reaffirming the Church’s connection to Jews, and stressing that his “heart was torn at the sight of what was happening in the Holy Land.” But he did not mention Hamas.
Jewish communities have repeatedly pointed out over the past 18 months that Francis spoke continually of the pain of the people of Gaza but did not mention the pain of the Israelis over the horrors perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, even though the Pontiff has repeatedly called for the release of the hostages. The gap widened on the day the Pope spoke openly of a “genocide” in Gaza and called for an investigation into what is happening in the Strip .
Thus Netanyahu on Monday was the only Middle Eastern leader not to write a message of condolences for the death of the Holy Father.
(Online Union)