Israeli Rabbi Warns Pope’s Gaza–Ukraine Remarks Could Harm Catholic–Jewish Ties

Report by “Safarti Tarjuman” International News Desk

Jerusalem — Senior Israeli Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz has formally expressed his disapproval to Pope Leo XIV after the pontiff compared the suffering of Gaza and Ukraine without distinguishing between the conflicts.

In a letter shared with The Times of Israel, Weisz expressed deep concern that the pope’s statement — delivered before nearly one million attendees at the “Jubilee of Youth” gathering near Rome last Sunday — omitted crucial moral distinctions and failed to mention Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

“By naming Gaza and Ukraine in the same breath — without drawing a moral distinction and without any reference to the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas — many in the Jewish world heard a painful equivalence that deeply wounded us,” Weisz wrote.

The comments in question were made last Sunday, when Pope Leo addressed nearly one million young pilgrims at the “Jubilee of Youth” event near Rome. He stated: “We are with the young people of Gaza, we are with the young people of Ukraine.”

Since his election in May, Pope Leo has consistently called for peace in Gaza, occasionally mentioning Israeli hostages. Israeli authorities believe 50 hostages remain in Gaza — 49 taken during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the body of an Israeli soldier captured in 2014. About 20 are believed to be alive.

Weisz emphasized that compassion should not come at the expense of moral clarity.

“All suffering is worthy of prayer, but not all suffering is caused by the same hands, nor should all conflicts be spoken of in the same terms,” he stressed.

The rabbi also warned that such statements could undermine decades of Catholic-Jewish reconciliation, particularly ahead of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the historic declaration that rejected the notion of collective Jewish guilt for Jesus’s death and called for interfaith dialogue.

“At a time when antisemitism is spreading — in Western capitals, universities, and even some churches — moral clarity is more essential than ever,” Weisz wrote.

Rabbi Weisz, who also serves on the Chief Rabbinate Council, is part of Israel’s top religious authority, which advises the government on Jewish law and oversees religious services nationwide.

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