Pope Israel Letters

President Shimon Peres honored Pope Benedict XVI at his residence with a ceremonial reception. The Pope stressed his wish that his visit would foster "peace and brotherhood between peoples and religions." The Pope's planting of an olive tree in recognition of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land begins a new tradition for the President's residence garden. Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religious leaders were included as guests at the reception. Israeli winners of the Nobel Prize, local artists and theatrical personalities, Holocaust survivors and student council representatives as well as members of the youth movement also took part in the event. "In you we see a promoter of peace; a great spiritual leader; a potent bearer of the message of peace to this land and to all others," President Peres said to the Pope.

At the age of 82, Pope Benedict XVI visited some of the most important religious sites in Jerusalem's Old City during his pilgrimage in 2009. His tour of the city began at Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) which is home to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites. The Pope was accompanied by several Israeli chief rabbis when he visited the Western "Wailing" Wall. This Roman-era Temple remnant represents Judaism's holiest place and the most-visited tourist site in Israel. The Pope spent several minutes in silent prayer, standing before the ancient stones of the Western Wall. After an official meeting with the chief rabbis, Pope Benedict XVI also spent some time at the Cenacle, purported to be the site of the Last Supper.

The speech he delivered after landing in Tel Aviv called for creating a Palestinian homeland. He also spoke out against continued anti-Semitism throughout the world, describing it as unacceptable. The Pope intends to spend time in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. The Israeli ministry said the purpose of the trip was to build a "bridge to peace." One of the highlights of his trip was giving mass to a crowd in the Kidron Valley at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jewish and Muslim factions are both trying to stop the Pope from promoting peace. The Jewish ideologues are describing Benedict's visit to a Palestinian refugee camp as a reproach to Israel. He is also being smeared as an anti-Semite after he recently lifted the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson who had stated he did not believe in the Holocaust had occurred. The Holocaust has long divided the Vatican and Israel due mainly to the inaction of Pope Pius XII during World War II. Pope Pius XII didn't speak out against the Holocaust when it was happening. Pope Benedict XVI attended a service at the hall of remembrance in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Israel, laying a wreath of flowers-in yellow and white, the papal colours-on a stone slab covering ashes of Holocaust victims. He then prayed over the site. In his moving address, the Pope thanked the people of Israel for giving him the opportunity to "stand in silence before this monument." The rabbis were disappointed that no apology was expressed.

The mission of the Pope's visit was to promote peace and an inter-religious dialogue. This mission was understood differently by the various area populations. One columnist concluded that "demography and geopolitics are forcing the Vatican to prioritise relations with Muslims over relations with Jews." However, the Vatican's position and that of Pope Benedict XVI are not the same. The Israeli Tourism Minister stated that his hope was that other Catholics throughout the world would follow the Pope's example, "Your call to all the faithful to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem carries great significance for us and will help promote the very peace to which you have referred in your speeches here in Israel."