An editorial on the Pope and terrorism

In its original comments, the Israeli Foreign Ministry declared, unarguably, "We expected the pope would criticize terror against Jews when deploring terror that affected others."

The ministry also asserted, dramatically, that "the Pope’s evasion cannot be interpreted as anything but justifying terror against Jews" and that "this can only strengthen the hands of radicals and offer them encouragement."

Whether the Pontiff’s exclusion was a function of design or of a subconscious tendency to discount Jewish lives, that exclusion, and the lame attempt to whitewash it, add credence to the potent Foreign Ministry criticism. The inevitable signal being dispatched to terror kingpins is that their assaults on Jews, even if not condoned outright, nevertheless do not arouse the same moral indignation and emotional outrage.

The inclination, subliminally or otherwise, to isolate Jews in a separate category, isn’t unique to the Vatican. But we expected better of a just-installed pontiff who has declared his desire to reach out to Jews and announced plans to visit the synagogue in Cologne during his upcoming journey to his native Germany. A pope, what is more, who was reportedly ready to take a tougher approach to the struggle with militant Islam than his predecessor.

Sadly, however, it almost appears that Benedictus XVI is falling short even of Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa who has reportedly and at long last accepted the UN’s draft definition of terror, one that brooks no exception making Israel a legitimate target.

FYI