How & When did Evangelicals become Zionists?

The problem with Likudniks and Zioniks

Conversion of the Jews

Pope Francis to be tried by the Sanhedrin

"Fact is stranger than fiction," it is often said, and this is one of those instances that proves that old adage true. According to Breaking News Israel, the Vatican's recognition of the State of Palestine has initiated such outrage among Zionist extremists that the Sanhedrin (yes, the successors to the people who unjustly condemned Jesus) now intends to convict Pope Francis of anti-semitism, if he does not abrogate his recognition of the Palestinian Nation. Well! Isn't it a strange day in the age of inter-religious dialogue?

It is a pity that the Holy Father will not outrage these people further by praying explicitly and in public that they acknowledge the Lord Jesus to be their Messiah and the Savior of all men. To be ecumenical, I will do so now in the words of an Anglican prayer:

O GOD, who didst choose Israel to be thine inheritance: Look, we beseech thee, upon thine ancient people; open their hearts that they may see and confess the Lord Jesus to be thy Son and their true Messiah, and, believing, they may have life through his Name. Take away all pride and prejudice in us that may hinder their understanding of the Gospel, and hasten the time when all Israel shall be saved; through the merits of the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Is Pope Francis Hiding The Cross Before the Chief Rabbis? Inclination to Zionism

(Jerusalem)  Pope Francis hid his pectoral cross in order not to “insult”  the Chief Rabbi of Israel? He certainly offered at the grave of Theodor Herzl, a recognition previously inconceivable for the Catholic Church, including obeisance to Zionism. A recognition that the Church refused for over a hundred years for theological reasons. What are Pope Francis’ objective with it? Was the role of Rabbi Abraham Skorka especially to achieve the recognition previously refused by previous popes  of Zionism?

Meeting with  Chief Rabbi and the Hidden Cross

On Monday, Pope Francis paid the two Chief Rabbi’s of Israel a "courtesy call". The encounter took place in the Heichal Shlomo Center next to the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem instead. Contrary to expectations, both Chief Rabbis had appeared, and the Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.

His father, Ovadja Joseph,  who was   from 1973-1983 Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, had in 2009 as head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas movement  had forbidden Sephardic Jews from attending any meetings with Pope Benedict XVI.   Holy Land  (see separate report 700,000 Orthodox Jews at the Funeral of Grand Rabbi - Ovadja Josef Denounced Meeting with Benedict XVI as  "idolatry". ).

While his father as head of the anti-Zionist Shas movement refused a meeting, the son took part, considering   his institutional role as Chief Rabbi and thus as one of the two Israeli constitutional judges.

"Crucifixes Are an Insult to Jews"

Both incumbent Chief Rabbis, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and the Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Joseph are sons of former Chief Rabbis. From the father of David Lau, Israel Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi of 1993-2003 comes the statement: "Crucifixes are an insult to Jews. The cross is against the Jewish religion and the sight of the cross is forbidden for a Jew."

Did Pope Francis therefore hid his cross during his meeting with the Chief Rabbi? Or was it just a coincidence that the cross slipped just at this meeting behind the cincture?  During the meeting with the Chief Rabbis, the papal pectoral cross was behind the cingulum, so that, in any event, it was not even partially visible as a cross.

Sensational Bow of a Pope Before Zionism

Certainly not a coincidence, however, was the reverence that  Pope Francis demonstrated to Zionism before the meeting with the Chief Rabbis. The Pope put flowers down on the grave of Theodor Herzl, who is honored in Israel as the "Father of the Fatherland". Such recognition of Zionism, a political movement of Judaism, had still been made by no pope, because it has to do with politics and not religion. So the visit of the Pope in the Holy Land was paved by incoherence and other controversial statements that is precisely expressed in its preferred, though not theologically easily understandable attitude towards Judaism. Since the Holy Land trip it may  his  attitude is now favorable towards  Zionist Judaism. The role of his rabbinical friend Abraham Skorka seems to have been decisive for this recognition of Zionism.

The Church Rejects Zionism

The question is not trivial, since Pope Pius X in 1904 met with Theodor Herzl and rejected the creation of a Jewish state for theological reasons and this attitude of the Catholic Church has been determinative  ever since (see report  Pius X and Theodor Herzl - Gesture of Apology by Pope Francis ? ). The State of Israel was never officially been recognized by the Catholic Church, as also a part of Judaism rejects Zionism today. It was not until 1984, that the State of Israel was first mentioned by John Paul II in a papal encyclical. Only in 1994 diplomatic relations were established between Israel and the Holy See. Pope Benedict XVI. 2009 had   complied with all diplomatic usage to visit the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.  However, from a recognition of Zionism or a visit to the grave of Theodor Herzl was not considered.  Zionism is a certain political movement within Judaism. For this reason alone, the popes refused recognition in the past, which would have at least met interference in political affairs.

But Pope Francis apparently wants to make policy, as his invitation by Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Abu Mazen shows in the Vatican. Thus, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, the "hawks"  in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip, were ignored. Whether the papal political activism will be successful remains to be seen. The question of what significance an invitation to   "common prayer," which appears to be the facade for  negotiations,  will form without falling into a soup of religious syncretism.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Images: Screenshots

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches….

AMGD

Saint Pius X and Theodore Herzl -- Gesture of Apology by Pope Francis?

(Jerusalem), the Israeli daily newspaper Israel Hayomand internet radio station Arutz Sheva reported a few days ago on the Pope's visit to the Holy Land, the Catholic Church leader's intention to make a "gesture of apology" to the founder of Zionism, because of the "injustice" that Theodor Herzl had received from St. Pius X.. But what did St. Pius X did to the Zionist leader? Theodor Herzl himself reported.

Israel Hayom reported on May 23. "Next Sunday, Pope Francis comes to Israel, where he intends to make a historic gesture of apology for an injustice that was committed 110 years ago by the Vatican.

In 1904  the Zionist leader Theodor Herzl visited the Vatican to ask the Pope Pius X, to assist in the establishment of the modern Jewish state of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish nation. But Pius refused."

The Visit to Herzl's Grave

Now Francis plans on visiting Herzl Mountain to visit Herzl's grave    to lay a floral wreath on his grave stone as a sign of apology. 

"Should this be the reason for the visit of Herzl's grave, and not an intended by the Israeli government for state as a guest obstacle course, which one could hardly escape from diplomatic considerations, that would be serious,"  wrote the Catholic site Pagina Catolica of Argentina. "On the one hand Pope Francis can not ignore that Zionism is not the identical to Judaism, but represents a particular political nationalist direction, and that this Zionism has caused much suffering among Christians and still causes it. Secondly, such a gesture could be interpreted as distancing and condemning of Pope Pius X, even if this is not the intention of Francis," said Pagina Catolica .

"To create balance in a balancing act is difficult. Playing with compensations can be dangerous in the political ground," said the Catholic site. It seems difficult to imagine that such a gesture would not have been criticized on the Palestinian and Muslim side. As had been already criticized by the Jewish side, the papal commitment to two states in Bethlehem, his prayer at the separation wall and the call for a "just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict" in Jordan. Is the visit to Herzl's tomb "as compensation" for these statements, gestures and demands?

Israel Hayom reported that Pope friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka, who visited with the Pope and the Muslim Omar Abboud Jerusalem, the Israeli newspaper described the triad as "Holy Trinity", was announced a few months ago  as a "definitive gesture for Israel."

Theodor Herzl's Report on the Meeting with Pope Pius X in 1904

On the 1st of July 1956 in the journal La Terre Retrovée a text of Theodor Herzl was published about his meeting with Pope Pius X on January 26, 1904:

Yesterday I was with the Pope. The route was already familiar since I had traversed it with Lippay several times. Past the Swiss lackeys, who looked like clerics, and clerics who looked like lackeys, the Papal officers and chamberlains.

Al Qaeda Urges Attacks Against "Zionist" Targets Like the Pope

Azzam al-Amriki

[kath.net, Vienna]The security measures for Pentecost were enormous.

There have been no comments from the Italian security authorities and also not from the Vatican about Islamic threats, where the Pope and Italy's Minister Silvio Berlusconi were identified as "easy targets to hit".

In a video message about the political security, the internet site "Stratfor" said on Saturday, that attacks against politicians, business leaders and media representatives who are controlled "by the Zionists".  So, one can strengthen the will of those people who fight for Islam, said the US-American Al Kaeda speaker Azzam al-Amriki. The attacks on such targets would not be difficult, as the most recent examples of the Pope and Berlusconi show.

Al Qaeda said in a video that western leaders are easy targets citing as examples Berlusconi and Pope Benedict XVI. In a 100-minute long video circulated on June 2 by the Al Qaeda media arm “As Sahab”, western leaders are described as easy targets, as they are less difficult to hit. The video message cites, as examples, Pope Benedict XVI, who was knocked down by a Swiss woman during the 2009 Christmas mass and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who suffered face injuries when attacked by Massimo Tartaglia in Milan on December 13 2009

From the blog, Tea and Politics.

Melkite Patriarch Gregory III: Jihad attacks on Middle Eastern Christians have all been a Zionist plot

I linked to Pamela Geller's righteously indignant post on this last Sunday but have been meaning to revisit it when time permitted, as it is indicative of several unfortunate tendencies. Gregory III Lahham, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, and All the East, has said -- if this report is accurate -- that Islamic jihad attacks against Middle Eastern Christians are actually a Zionist plot to discredit Islam. And in doing so, he has illustrated the predicament of Christians in the Middle East in ways that he perhaps did not intend.

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Jewish Community thinks Obama is a Muslim and Takes them for Granteds

Jews at home and abroad have been slow to warm to Mr. Obama – a recent poll found nearly 40 percent of Israelis believe he is Muslim – and it seems the distrust within the community is at least partly driving the anger.


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