Whoa! The Pope Is Woke On Anti-Semitism

Pope Francis Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer November 6, 2018

Roughly 3,500 years into the great experiment known as Judaism, and things are going better than we could have possibly imagined and more painfully than we might have hoped.

We’re rocking a rich global culture, an independent Jewish state, and nifty inventions like Google and braided egg bread. We Jews also continue to experience vile acts of anti-Semitism — the murder of eleven Jews in a synagogue in Pittsburgh last week is perhaps the most horrific piece of evidence that we remain far away from the world to come.

Much historic anti-Semitism has been not just hatred of Jews for being Jews, but specifically the hatred of Jews for not being Christian. So excuse us if we say thank Pope Francis for his incredibly strong statement of ally-ship to the Jewish community.

Pope Francis addressed a group of rabbis from the Caucasus region at the Vatican on Monday. Among other things, he called on people everywhere to “commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community” and shouted “Shalom Aleichem!”

What he is actually saying is — Christians who hate Jews are false Christians and have no place in our faith.

It’s perhaps the most radical statement of support a head of the Catholic Church has ever made on behalf of the Jewish people.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO