Vatican Policy on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: The Struggle for the Holy Land (review)

Abstract

156 SHOFAR Vatican Policy on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: The Struggle for the Holy Land, by Andrei Kreutz. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. 196 pp. $39.95. An old adage among Roman Catholics is that it is easier to lose your faith in the Vatican than almost anywhere else in the world. Though perhaps unintended and with a strange twist, Andrei Kreutz's analysis of the Vatican's policy vis-a-vis the Holy Land confirms this view. Most Jewish reflection in this area concentrates, sometimes even obsessively , on the Vatican's refusal to recognize Israel as a state, usually connected with the difficulty of the Vatican in recognizing Jews as a contemporary religious and political entity. But as Kreutz points out, this is hardly the case. In fact, the refusal, at least in the pre-1970 period, has little to do with Jews or Arabs but rather with the almost exclusive Vatican focus on Christian holy places, and in a derivative way with the local Palestinian Christians. Lest this be seen as a tilt toward Palestinians, at least the small percentage of Palestinians who are Christian, Kreutz again is clear. In the mind of the Vatican the local Christian population makes viable the holy places, especially in the maintenance thereof, and, as important, provides the historical link to the Vatican claims of succession to the ministry of Jesus the Christ. Thus the Vatican has favored neither Moslem nor Jewish rule of Palestine, but rather the hegemony of a Western Christian power (Britain, for exampie ), which guaranteed the Holy Places, especially in Jerusalem, and provided the framework for the maintenance of the small Christian community in Palestine. In short, the Vatican, despite its lofty pronouncements, pursued almost exclusively its own interests which had as little to do with the people as possible. Over the years with the establishment of the state of Israel and the ensuing Palestinian struggle, the Vatican's policy extended itself to the actualities of life lived in Israel/Palestine. Especially since the 1967 war, the Vatican accepted as permanent Israel's presence and became even more involved in Palestinian life with less distinction between Christian and Muslim, now no longer referred to as infidels. Since the pontificate of John Paul II, the question of Papal recognition of Israel is no longer an issue, though formal diplomatic relations remain for the future, as does the formal recognition of Jordan. The Pope has received Golda Meir, Shimon Peres, and Yitzak Shamir, as he has received Yasser Arafat and King Hussein. The Pope constantly speaks of the State of Israel and the aspirations of the Palestinians for their own homeland. As early as 1985 the Vatican representative said, "The Holy See would have no problem VoLume 9. No.3 Spring 1991 157 in principle with establishing diplomatic relations [with Israel]. However, there are certain difficulties and problems that the Holy See would first want to have resolved." For a book on diplomacy, Kreutz has written a readable and at times interesting chronicle. Though hindered by the closure of part of the Vatican archives, Kreutz's analysis is detailed and important. The accusation by Jews, including Jewish progressives, that the Vatican policy toward Israel is antiJewish is hardly substantiated by Kreutz, and the present policy toward Israel seems almost generous compared to most international organizations. Unfortunately , perhaps the underlying meaning of Kreutz's analysis is that neither Jews nor Palestinians, separate or together, have much importance in the rarefied atmosphere of those who claim to carry forward the message of the messiah. MarcH. Ellis Maryknoll School ofTheology Maryknoll, New York . The Blue and the Yellow Star of David: The Zionist Leadership in Palestine and the Holocaust, 1939-1945, by DinaPorat. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990. 334 pp. $27.95. Researchers who have spoken out against the indictment of the role played by American Jewry during the Holocaust have special reason to welcome this book. Dina Porat at last gives us a standard against which the American Jewish posture during the Holocaust can be measured. Although the Yishuv was smaller and in a far different strategic position, the problems faced by its leadership during the crisis are familiar. As in America...