Pope Will 'Recognize Palestine, Call to End Occupation'

Photo ~ Pope Francis with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Reuters)

The claims that his trip will begin in a "recognition of Palestine" comes amid reports from February by Rabbi Sergio Bergman, a member of the Argentinian parliament and close friend of Pope Francis, who said that the pope intends to define himself as the "Che Guevera of the Palestinians" and support their "struggle and rights" during his visit.

In Bethlehem the pope is to travel in an open-top car and meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, holding "mass" prayer services there instead of in Jerusalem in what has been called a show of support for the PA.

It has been noted that the pope has been remarkably tight-lipped over the violent persecution of Christians in Bethlehem, instead choosing to condemn alleged Jewish "price tag" vandalism.

The fact that "the pope will begin his visit in Palestine and not Israel," as Bandak put it ( Ziyyad Bandak, Abbas's adviser for Christian affairs), was meant as a slight to the Jewish state according to the PA official, who added "I know that Israeli officials are not happy with this decision."

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Prof. Leonard Wessell

May 20, 2014

I am horrified, though I understand now why Pope Francis can have friends who are Marxists. If the man identifies himself with Che Guevera, he is agreeing with a Marxist who has murdered, surpressed religion, tortured thousands and put thousands into political presion camps. The Palestinian leadership wants no peace with Israel, just the elimination of Israel and of living Jews. Check out Memri tv and Palestine Watch and you can listen to very young Palsestian children praising the killing of Jews!!! No doubt the Pope's words will be fit inbetween such tv broadcasts, sort of as a blessing. Pope Francis is overstepping the bounds to his function as a head of a state. He could be mixing into explosive politics. I can now understand why many times many Roman and Italian inhabitants chased popes out of Rome. (What the heck, Che got chased about in So. America until he got his just reward.) Pope Francis will undo all the reconciliation that Pope John Paul II did and revive(with a great deal of justification) the Jewish fear of being once again having their existence threatened by Christianity. Were I in Israel now and should the Pope go political, I would join with the Orthodox Jews in protesting the admission to Israel of a "terrorist", viz. a "Che-Guevera-ist". I sort of miss the good old days of pope chassing out of Rome.