Jesus as "Palestinian" - the ramifications of Historical Revisionism

• More Christmas Lies from Palestinians Commentary 12/23.13:

  However one approaches the narrative about Christianity’s origins, there is no doubt that the historical Jesus was a Jew, not an Arab. The only point of transforming him into a Palestinian Arab is to hijack the history of biblical-era Judaism in order to burnish the myth that current-day Jews have no place in the land of Israel.

• Why Do Christians Tolerate Palestinian Historical Revisionism?, Evelyn Gordon. Commentary 12/26/2013:

  ... the most striking aspect of this story is that objections to such historical revision come almost exclusively from Jews, whereas many Christian churches and organizations seem to have no problem with it. After all, it’s not only Jewish history and the Jewish religion Palestinians thereby erase; they are also erasing Christian history and the Christian religion.

Francis and Netanyahu shake hands: “All is resolved through dialogue”, by Giacomo Galeazzi. On December 2nd, Francis held a cordial meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who gave him a book by his father on the Inquisition in Spain in the fifteenth century:

“To the great pastor and guardian of our common heritage” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote as a dedication to Francis in the book The Origins of the Inquisition in Spain in the fifteenth century which he gave to him at today’s meeting in the Vatican. In the current geopolitical context, the expected scenario was a meeting between the Israeli hawk and the Vatican dove. But what we saw was a frank and constructive meeting on some thorny issues regarding the Middle East. ...

Pope Francis on the Holocaust

Pope Francis on the Holocaust, by Eloisa Perez-Lozano. 04/08/13:

“The great powers washed their hands, looked the other way, because they knew much more than what they were saying,” Francis says.

He points out that the Holocaust is a genocide, like others in the twentieth century, but it has something the others do not have. According to Francis, there is an “idolatrous construction against the Jewish people.”

“The pure race, the superior being, are the idols on which the basis of Nazism was formed,” he says. “It is not only a geopolitical problem, there also exists a religious-cultural issue.”

Related

• Book co-written with Argentine rabbi sheds light on Francis’ views, by Eloisa Perez-Lozano. National Catholic Reporter 04/05/13. The book, which touches on Francis' thoughts on atheism, abortion, fundamentalism and same-sex marriage, will be available in North America beginning April 30.
  

Pope Francis, Rome chief rabbi exchange Passover, Easter greetings

ROME (JTA) – Pope Francis and Rome’s Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni exchanged greetings to mark Passover and Easter.

The two holidays overlap this year.

The holidays, Di Segni wrote to the pontiff, “represent both the link and the separation between our religions.” He noted that over history Easter often was the occasion of anti-Semitic attacks. Today, however, “these days are experienced by both faiths in joy and harmony,” a fact for which he paid tribute to “all those people who have been committed to this healing.”

Di Segni offered a prayer for the pope “in the spirit of respect and brotherly friendship” with the hope that the lord “renders us able to reciprocally understand the sense of difference and the value of brotherhood.”

In his own message to Di Segni on the eve of Passover, the pope prayed that “the Almighty, who freed His people from slavery in Egypt to guide them to the Promised Land, continue to deliver you from all evil and to accompany you with His blessing. I ask you to pray for me, as I assure you of my prayers for you, confident that we can deepen [our] ties of mutual esteem and friendship.”

On Sunday, Christian pilgrims from around the world marked Easter in Jerusalem, where Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal led Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is believed to be the place where Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead on Easter.

Source: JTA News 03/31/13.

Related

• Friendship began with soccer, led to improved Catholic-Jewish ties, by David Agren. Catholic News Service. 03/27/13.
  
• Pope Francis to Rabbi of Rome:“I hope to contribute to the progress of relations between Jews and Catholics which began with Vatican Council II” Vatican Information Service. 03/15/13.
  
• Argentina’s Jewish community celebrate Pope Francis Miami Herald 03/18/13.
  
• Understanding Pope Francis's Surprising Affinity For Jewish Art The Forward 07/08/13.