(RNS) — A group representing the leaders of the United States’ largest Jewish organizations has written a letter to Pope Francis criticizing his recent condemnation of Israeli airstrikes that killed 25 Palestinians, calling the pope’s comments “incendiary.”
In his Dec. 21 Christmas address to the Catholic Church’s cardinals, Francis said: “Yesterday, children were bombed. This is cruelty. This is not war.”
The letter, from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, defended Israel’s war in Gaza as a “legitimate military campaign.” The conference’s mission, according to its website, is to “advance the U.S.-Israel special relationship, bolster Israel’s security and prosperity.”
The conference represents the heads of 53 American Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel International, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee.
“With global antisemitism at record highs, the American Jewish community calls on you to refrain from making incendiary comments and to build bridges between our two peoples,” said the letter, which was signed by William C. Daroff, the group’s CEO, as well as Harriet P. Schleifer, its chair.
The letter argues that the pope’s comments do not “acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre where Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 innocent civilians and took 251 hostages, 101 of whom still remain captive. Further, it does not acknowledge Hamas’ use of human shields and civilian infrastructure for terror purposes, putting the entire population of Gaza at risk.” (The New York Times has reported that the Israeli army has used Palestinians as human shields, a practice that is illegal under international law.)
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also criticized the pope’s