Jewish leaders decry Pope Francis's criticism of Israel as 'incendiary'
Pope Francis gives the annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia, December 21, 2024, at the Vatican. (Video screengrab)
A group representing the leaders of the United States’s largest Jewish organizations has written a letter to Pope Francis criticizing his recent condemnation of Israeli airstrikes that killed 25 Palestinians, calling the pope’s comments “incendiary.”
In his December 21 Christmas address to the Catholic Church’s cardinals, Francis said: “Yesterday, children were bombed. This is cruelty. This is not war.”
The letter, from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, defended Israel’s war in Gaza as a “legitimate military campaign.” The conference’s mission, according to its website, is to “advance the U.S.-Israel special relationship, bolster Israel’s security and prosperity.”
