With anti-Semitism on the rise globally, the Vatican and the United States partnered at a virtual conference on Thursday to condemn hate crimes and violence against Jews in both Europe and the US and to reaffirm their support of the state of Israel.
“In recent years, we have witnessed the spread of a climate of evil and antagonism, in which anti-Semitic hatred has been manifested through a number of attacks in various countries,” said Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in his remarks.
“The Holy See condemns all forms of anti-Semitism, recalling that such acts are neither Christian nor human,” he added, quoting Pope Francis, who has continued his predecessors’ efforts to promote dialogue with the Jewish community.
The online event, which was organized by the US Embassy to the Holy See, took place only a few hours after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the occupied West Bank in the company of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and denounced the Boycott Israel movement as anti-Semitic.
Speakers at the conference identified three growing trends contributing to increased anti-Semitism: far-right extremists, militant Islam and anti-Zionism.
Elan S Carr, US special envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, called Israel, “not only a country but humanity’s most beautiful response to something evil.
Read the article by Claire Giangrave (Vatican City) in Sight Magazine.