From the beginning of the war in Gaza, Israel and the Vatican have periodically found themselves at odds. Israel at times has objected to what it sees as the Vatican’s false moral equivalence that undermines Israel’s right to self-defence, while the Vatican has complained of a “disproportionate” Israeli response that results in the loss of innocent life and threatens to ignite a wider regional or even global conflagration.
Such differences are perhaps inevitable, as Israel prosecutes its war while the Holy See attempts to remain above the political fray, focusing primarily on the humanitarian fallout for all parties. No one has suggested that the Vatican’s rhetoric reflects explicit anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish sentiment, but rather is the consequence of contrasting perspectives and geopolitical priorities.
