Israel

"May the Names of These Victims Never Perish." Here is the text of the address Benedict XVI gave on May 11, 2009 at the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

"Sadly, anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head in many parts of the world. This is totally unacceptable." The following is the speech delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at Ben Gurion airport upon his arrival in Israel on May 11, 2009.

"We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to building bridges of lasting friendship." Here is the text of the farewell address Benedict XVI gave at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport, before boarding a plane to return to Rome.

"Our Two Communities Are Challenged to Engage People of Good Will at the Level of Reason." Here is the text of Benedict XVI's address during a courtesy visit to the "Hechal Shlomo" center, seat of the Grand Rabbinate, after he visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

LORD, that which You have given us, give to all Israel. May all Israel discover the sweet gentleness and sublimity of the Messiah, who is still waiting, and has already been with us for twenty centuries, Yeshua, the Lord. And together with the Messiah, may Israel discover the stunning beauty of the Good News that comes from heaven, the New Covenant capable of bringing to Israel the peace of her God, shalom upon Jerusalem.

On October 28, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caused a stir when he quoted a controversial passage from the Bible identifying Hamas with Amalek--Israel's archenemy in the Bible--to justify Israel's ongoing war against the terrorist group.

Faced with the "already here" of the Church, Israel is the witness of the "not yet". The Jewish people and the Christian people are thus in a situation of mutual imitation. Christians rejoice in the "already here", while the Jews remember the "not yet".

Tradition identifies the deserted place where John the Baptist grew up as the hermitage of St. John in the Desert, also known as 'Ain el-Habis (spring of the hermit.)  The site is located in the heart of the Judean hills, about 3 km from Ein Karem, St. John’s birthplace, which is itself just 7-8 km west of Jerusalem.

Br. Tilbert Moser proposes a biblical alternative to the Two-State Solution and Vatican recognition of the Palestinian State. This article is currently available in German only.

Cardinal Avery Dulles (1918-2008), of blessed memory, discusses the present status of God's covenant with Israel, a subject which has been extensively discussed in Jewish-Christian dialogues since the Shoah. Catholics look for an approach that fits in the framework of Catholic doctrine, much of which has been summarized by the Second Vatican Council...