1.
Ancient beliefs die hard, even after the Church officially declared that Jews were not responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Now, the head of the Catholic Church has subtly inserted a new blood libel into his book: Jews are committing "genocide" in Gaza. Pope Francis writes that this might be genocide, which is even worse, as he plants seeds of doubt among his hundreds of millions of followers.
Jews were accused in medieval times of baking matzah with children's blood, and each time this libel spread, mobs went out to slaughter Jews. In the fourth century, one of the Church fathers declared that because "They killed Jesus Christ... there is no more mercy and no cure... and this is exactly what happened to the Jews. They made themselves unfit for work, and now they are ready for slaughter."
2.
Pope Francis did not stop at the genocide allegation but also stated there is hunger in Gaza due to "the difficulty in bringing food and aid into the territory." Are there no fact-checkers near the Holy See? Never in the history of warfare has there been a situation where, in the midst of combat, the opposing state provided food, equipment, electricity, and fuel to the enemy as Israel has done with Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of tons of food and equipment have been brought in since the war began. There is no hunger in Gaza, and there has never been one.
This is despite our 101 hostages being held there in inhumane conditions without any information about them. The chance of saving them has weakened because of the humanitarian aid we've allowed in. What reason do the terrorists have to release them if they receive regular supplies?
3.
Ostensibly, the Pope is just criticizing Israel. But Israel is the world's only Jewish state. Accusing Israel of genocide is an antisemitic blood libel. Genocide means the extermination of an entire population, as in the Holocaust. No army in the world warns the enemy before bombing ammunition depots intended to harm our children, as the IDF does. Hamas not only uses the civilian population as human shields; it wants them to be harmed so that world public opinion will pressure Israel.
Your Holiness, you are mistaken. The genocide you spoke about was committed by Hamas and its supporters (the majority of Gaza's population). They committed genocide against us on October 7: they murdered our children, beheaded our sons, raped our daughters, burned parents and children alive after binding them, destroyed peaceful communities, and killed Jews who had dedicated their lives to improving conditions in Gaza and transporting children to hospitals in Israel. The terrorists took pride in these atrocities, posted the videos on social media, and were received as heroes in the streets of Gaza.
4.
But the world isn't interested in facts, only in criticizing Israel. Have we heard similar criticism of dozens of brutal military conflicts occurring worldwide? More than half a million deaths in Syria's civil war and about 11 million refugees, almost half a million deaths in the Russia-Ukraine war, about a quarter million deaths in Yemen's war, and in Sudan's civil war, the death toll approaches half a million with more than 14 million refugees. These are just examples. Are there "characteristics of genocide"? Certainly, but if Jews aren't involved, it doesn't matter.
5.
Radical Islam persecutes Christians in the Middle East. Many have fled to the West, and the rest live in fear. Their situation today resembles that of Jews in Europe during the Middle Ages. The only place where the Christian community is protected and thriving is in the Jewish state. Oh, the historical irony. Israel is fighting against tyranny that seeks to subjugate the entire free world, tyranny that sees Judeo-Christian civilization as the enemy.
Indeed, the Pope once met with families of Israeli hostages and expressed empathy. Nothing special. This is the role assigned to us in history: eternal victims like Jesus, always on the cross. Jews fighting their enemies. That's a bit strange for those living the Christian myth. But we have ended our exile, returned home to Zion, and established an independent Jewish state. Jesus came down from the cross, wrapped himself in a Jewish prayer shawl, and returned to live as a Jew in Galilee. He refuses to be crucified again. The blood libel about "genocide" in Gaza is another attempt to crucify us. The God of Israel will judge between us.
