[Sundaycommunity] POPE’S CALL TO STUDY 'GENOCIDE' IN GAZA

[John Costello]

David,
Thanks for this.
The question about possible Israeli genocide features in the Israeli government’s actions, outreach and motives is  important in terms of the world’s (humanity’s) view of these actions and their motives—and the world’s response.

It is clear that Netanyahu and the Israeli government decided long ago that all its/their actions are essentially ‘defensive’ responses of self-protection. For many, outside the Israeli fold, iIt is simply self-serving belligerence that we have seen for months now.

We must pray and act in light of human actions, human suffering and human needs—beyond self-interest..

David, thanks for your regular addressing of the issues and actions at this clear and profound level.

In solidarity,
Jack

From: Sundaycommunity <sundaycommunity-bounces at lists.integralshift.ca> on behalf of David Walsh via Sundaycommunity <sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca>
Date: Friday, February 7, 2025 at 10:49 PM
To: Sunday Community (sundaycommunity at integralshift.ca) <sundaycommunity at integralshift.ca>
Cc: David Walsh <david at dwalsh.ca>
Subject: Re: [Sundaycommunity] POPE’S CALL TO STUDY 'GENOCIDE' IN GAZA

[cid:2D34E19EEC9EB24D95D1C3361A391728 at CANPRD01.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM]<https://sojo.net/>
Israeli Official Criticizes Pope’s Call to Study 'Genocide' in Gaza
By Joshua McElwee, Reuters<https://sojo.net/biography/joshua-mcelwee-reuters>

[cid:4D833E1D48511247B278975C345A42F1 at CANPRD01.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM]

An Israeli government minister criticized Pope Francis on Friday for suggesting the international community should study whether Israel’s military offensive in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
In an open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli said the pope’s remarks — made in excerpts published last month from a forthcoming book month — amounted to a “trivialisation” of the term genocide.
“As a people who lost six million of its sons and daughters in the Holocaust, we are particularly sensitive to the trivialisation of the term ‘genocide’ - a trivialisation that comes dangerously close to Holocaust denial,” Chikli wrote.
Chikli, who ended the letter by calling Francis “a dear friend of the Jewish people,” asked the pope “to clarify your position regarding the new accusation of genocide against the Jewish state.”
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Israel says accusations of genocide in Gaza are baseless and that it is solely hunting down Hamas militants and other Palestinian armed groups.
The pope, as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts, but has recently been more outspoken about Israel’s military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas. In the book excerpts published by Italian daily La Stampa, the pontiff said some international experts said that “what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide.”
“We should investigate carefully to assess whether this fits into the technical definition (of genocide) formulated by international jurists and organisations,” the pope said.
Authorities in the Gaza Strip say more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 107,000 injured in Israel’s offensive, and most of the enclave’s more than 2 million people are homeless or displaced.
Joshua McElwee, Reuters<https://sojo.net/biography/joshua-mcelwee-reuters>
Joshua McElwee is a reporter for Reuters.


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