A deleted condolence after pope’s death revealed tension between Israel and the Vatican

Pope Francis prays at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, in Jerusalem’s Old City. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Hours after Pope Francis’s death was announced, Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted a short message on X: “Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing.” Several hours later, it was deleted without explanation.

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Coming at a time of effusive global mourning over Pope Francis’s death, the decision to delete the post appeared to reflect the tensions that have emerged between Israel and the Vatican over Pope Francis’s frequent criticism of Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza. The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the deletion.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is usually quick to issue statements on the passing of major international figures. It took him four days to issue a terse, 28-word statement on the official Prime Minister account, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has been silent. The only immediate official condolences came from Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role and who praised Pope Francis for being “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion.”

Gaza war

For most of Pope Francis’s papacy, ties between Israel and the Vatican steadily improved — highlighted by a visit to the Holy Land in 2014. But everything changed after the war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s deadly attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

While expressing sympathy for Israeli victims and hostages, Pope Francis has suggested Israel’s subsequent attacks in Gaza and Lebanon were “immoral” and disproportionate. He also called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, a charge Israel denies while investigations at the U.N.’s top courts proceed.

“Pope Francis condemned what happened on October 7, but he was clear also that what happened on October 7 does not justify what has been happening since October 7,” said Wadie Abunassar, who heads a group that represents Christians in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Pope Francis was like a friend who tells the truth, even if that’s not exactly what you want to hear, Mr. Abunassar said.

Throughout the war, Pope Francis walked a delicate balance between his close ties with Israel and condemning the devastating losses in Gaza, according to Amnon Ramon, an expert on Christianity in Israel. Pope Francis was exceptionally close to Gaza’s local parish priest, who, like the former pontiff, is from Argentina.

Israel has historically had a fragile relationship with the Vatican. It stems from anger over the Vatican’s perceived lack of action during Second World War, when critics argue Pope Pius XII kept silent during the Holocaust despite possible knowledge of the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews. Supporters insist he used quiet diplomacy to save Jewish lives.

In the 1960s, the Vatican underwent a series of dramatic transformations, including, among other things, changing the Church’s attitude towards Jews over what was long seen as their collective culpability for the crucifixion of Jesus, Ramon explained. The Holy See formally launched diplomatic relations with Israel in 1993.

Christians make up less than 2% of the Holy Land’s population. There are about 1,82,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department.

Pope meets Netanyahu

At the start of Pope Francis’s papacy, the relationship with Israel warmed significantly. Pope Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014 as one of his first international trips, when he met with Mr. Netanyahu, who was the Prime Minister at the time. Then-President Shimon Peres visited the Vatican multiple times, including with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to plant a peace tree in the Vatican Gardens.

But the Israeli government’s rightward shift, and the ongoing war with Gaza, strained the ties.

Although world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend Pope Francis’ funeral, Israel will only send its Vatican ambassador, a lower-level diplomat.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said this was due partially to scheduling conflicts and the funeral taking place on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, which requires Israeli politicians to stay within walking distance of the funeral. The decision was not indicative of any tension with the Vatican, he said. “Israel will be represented in the most official way in the funeral through our ambassador there,” said Mr. Marmorstein.