Italian rabbis have criticized Pope Francis and are demanding clarification over his comments accusing both Hamas and Israel of "terrorism".
Francis made the comments on Wednesday after meeting separately with relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and families of Palestinians living in Gaza.
Later that day, at a general audience in St. Peter's Square, he spoke about the meetings, saying he felt the pain of both sides.
"That's what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism"
- He told.
The Pope urged prayers for both sides to stop the war, otherwise it "will kill everyone in the end".
The council of the General Assembly of Italian Rabbis issued a statement on Thursday lamenting that the Pope was "accusing both sides of terrorism".
The rabbis also criticized the unnamed "church leaders" for not condemning the Hamas attack and
"a sign of equality was made between the aggressor and the attacked in the name of alleged impartiality".
Meetings with the Pope on Wednesday said that the Pope condemned the terrorist action by Hamas, but also added that "terror cannot justify terror".
In fact, the Pope went even further and used the word "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza.
The Italian rabbis therefore questioned whether the decades-long Jewish-Christian dialogue would be useful if the Vatican responded to the attack on the Jews with "diplomatic acrobats".
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has led a "peace mission" to Ukraine on behalf of the Pope several times, defended Pope Francis after his comments. According to Zuppi, the Pope "does not put everyone on the same shelf" and "understands the motivations of the Israeli government".
Featured image: RICCARDO DE LUCA / ANADOLU / ANADOLU VIA AFP
