Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Jerusalem yesterday for the start of a five-day tour of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. He was officially received with a lavish reception at the residence of Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, where a children’s choir sang in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
In front of 300 invited diplomats, Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious dignitaries and senior Israeli officials, the pontiff urged “peace and security through justice for everyone”.
“I pray daily for peace born of justice to return to the Holy Land and the entire region, bringing security and renewed hope for all,” the Pope said, having apologised beforehand for his command of the English language.
Mr Peres welcomed the Pope, describing him as a “promoter of peace” and urged him to inspire faith that peace is achievable.
“Spiritual leaders can pave the way for political leaders; they can clear the mine fields that obstruct the road to peace,” said Mr Peres.
Both Mr Peres and Pope Benedict spoke at length about peace and coexistence between religions, but the Pope’s speech was also notable for his emphasis on justice, mentioned no less than seven times in a brief speech.
Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, Pope Benedict had omitted any mention of Palestinian statehood, but spoke of the need for both Palestinians and Israelis to live in “peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognised borders”.
The Vatican officially supports a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, something the new Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who welcomed the Pope in Tel Aviv but was absent from the reception at Mr Peres’s residence, has yet to commit to.
The Vatican has emphasised that the Pope is first and foremost on a spiritual pilgrimage. Nevertheless, with an exhaustive schedule that will see him take in four cities – Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Ramallah – and meet countless dignitaries and religious and political leaders, the political context will not be denied.
The Pope was due yesterday to visit the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem and today will go to the al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He is also scheduled to visit a refugee camp in Bethlehem, where a stage has been built for him next to a nine-metre-high concrete wall, part of Israel’s separation barrier, much to the consternation of Israel, which has objected to the site.
In his speech yesterday, Mr Peres referred to the hope that the “walls of hostility fall”. He omitted, noted one attendee on the sidelines, tongue-in-cheek, to talk of the rise of the “walls of peace”.
Pope Benedict has courted controversy with both Jews and Muslims since his ascension in 2005. In a 2006 speech, the Pope angered Muslims around the world by quoting a 14th century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Mohammed had brought only “evil” to the world. The Vatican hurriedly issued a statement to say that the Pope had intended no offence, but it fell short of the full apology Muslim leaders demanded.
Pope Benedict has since made several conciliatory speeches towards Islam and Muslims, and religious coexistence was very much a theme of his speech yesterday. Among other things, the pontiff made a point of describing Jerusalem as a city for three religions that “affords Jews, Christians and Muslims both the duty and the privilege to bear witness together to the coexistence long desired by worshippers of the one God”.
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The pontiff also angered Jews by recently reinstating a bishop who had questioned the veracity of the Holocaust. Indeed, a smattering of protesters outside the residence of Mr Peres had gathered early yesterday to make their displeasure clear. The protest was spearheaded by Rabbi Michael Ben-Ari, a far-Right member of the Israeli parliament, who had previously tried to block the pope’s visit.
Carrying signs reading, “Remember the crucifixion of the Jews, pope?” and, “Despite persecution, the Jewish nation lives”, the small group was dispersed long before the pope arrived.
From Gaza, too, the pontiff’s visit, especially his meeting with the family of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by militants nearly three years ago, drew criticism.
“The visit will only improve the image of the occupation,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman.
“And if the pope wishes to extend sympathy to the family of one captured Israeli solder, what about the families of thousands of Palestinian prisoners?”
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