![]() ![]() We are mindful of the new emphasis in Catholic religious teaching that calls for acknowledging the Jewish roots of Christianity and recognizing the Jewish people as it defines itself. As you have noted, we must act together to fight the plague of racism and anti-Semitism all over the world. We appreciate Your Holiness' contribution to condemning anti-Semitism by labeling it as a crime against God and humanity, and by the request for forgiveness for deeds carried out in the past by representatives of the Church against the Jewish people. We, my brothers and contemporaries, were born into the era when the Jews returned to their land and rebuilt it. Today we are no longer Jews in exile wandering the globe from land to land, from diaspora to diaspora. During the years of exile, we suffered religious persecution and anti-Semitism, and a third of our people were exterminated, incinerated in the terrible Holocaust. Two thousand years ago, the people of Israel was exiled from its country and its homeland, and dispersed among the nations, over lands and continents. Wanderers were we, following in the footsteps of our forefathers, but throughout the long years of our exile, our spirit was never broken and our yearning for Zion never wavered. Only 150 generations have passed from the pillar of fire that signaled the redemption of the Exodus from Egypt until the pillars of smoke that signaled the destruction in the Holocaust.Īnd we, who were born as children of our forefather Abraham, were present in all of these. Only 200 generations since the emergence on the stage of history of a man called Abraham, who left his home and native land and went to a place which is today my country. Two hundred generations have passed since the beginning of our people's history, yet they seem to us like a short time. In the name of the people in Israel, I welcome you with the traditional greeting: " Baruch haba." Ezer Weizman, President of the State of Israel at the Welcome Ceremony, Ben-Gurion Airport, 21 March 2000. ![]() Text of speeches and statements made by the Pope in Israel, as well as those made by Israeli leaders, follow:Īddress by H.E. He also visited Bethlehem and met with PA Chairman Arafat. ![]() He met with Israel's President, Prime Minister and Chief Rabbis, visited the Western Wall, and laid a wreath at Yad Vashem. The Pope arrived from Amman on board a Jordanian airliner and left Israel for Rome on board an El Al plane. In a truly historic visit, Pope John Paul II spent five days in Israel, mainly in Jerusalem, but also in Nazareth and on Mount Beatitude where he held a mass for over 100,000 pilgrims from all over the world. ![]()
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