VIEWPOINT."
Saving memory: a rabbi's
response to the Vatican
By Rabbi Israel Zoberman
he recent release of the long awaited Vatican document on
the connection between the Holocaust and the Catholic
Church almost coincides with the annual observance this sea-
son of the Shoah's tragedy, the enormity of which has turned it into
the most defining event of the soon concluding 20th century, the
bloodiest of all times.
While the document acknowledges a measure of Christian culpa-
bility for Jewish suffering, it falls short of a full apology, for the
over-a-decade study of the trying theme is fraught with painful and
embarrassing confrontations for the church, touching upon the his-
torical rejectionist attitude by Christianity of Judaism and the Jew-
ish people. No wonder that there were high expectations that the
reached conclusions would fully reflect and respect the record of a
troubling past reality in light of the subject's magnitude, as well as
the breakthrough conciliatory accomplishments of the Second Vati-
can Council in the 60s and the unparalleled contribution of Pope
John Paul II, building upon the foundation laid by his great prede-
cessor Pope John XXIII in dismissing Jewish responsibility for
Jesus' execution and honoring Abraham's descendants. At stake was
also the church's own need to come to grips with a burden weighing
upon its conscience in a way demanding absolution from sins of
both commission and omission, allowing for a renewed sense of
integrity and reconciliation in an era of an unprecedented ecumeni-
cal spirit, where no longer can any faith claim an imperialistic role.
It seems that the controversial document could not escape inter-
nal political pressure and compromise along with vestiges of pre-
Second Vatican thinking. Perhaps some of us within both the Jew-
ish and Christian communities got a bit carried away in believing
that the significant victories of the past several decades were free
from roadblocks and unforeseen detours. How else explain the
skirting of two central issues that the authors were surely aware of
their persistent presence, that now more than ever will beg an
unequivocal response. The fact that traditional anti-Semitism has its
origins in two millennia of the church's anti-Jewish teachings,
demonstrates contempt in word and deed for both the spiritual her-
itage from which ironically Christianity emerged, and the people
who bore witness to the covenant they refused to abandon when
threatened with expulsion, forced conversion and death itself. Is
there any doubt that the Holocaust and anti-Semitism are intimately
interwoven ?
The second bone of contention is the role of Pope Pius XII
whose silence during the Nazi slaughter was far louder than his
intervention in saving individual lives. While there is no surprise
that the church would want to defend her "infallible" leaders, it is
the failure to exercise the vast moral authority invested in the
Pope's high office which should serve as a cardinal yardstick in
evaluating the legacy of any Holy Father, particularly under critical
circumstances testing the mantle of true spiritual greatness. The
related concern of the Vatican's alleged involvement in aiding the
escape of Nazis at the war's end to South America and elsewhere,
deserves an honest investigation and disclosure. Only when past
ghosts are finally laid to rest, can memory be cleansed to serve the
future.
I trust that the contested official statement is not in its final form,
for history and our common God expect more from us and we can
deliver in this generation of unfathomable lows but also dazzling
heights, a gift of healing hope for those to follow. I ought to know
for during 1985 to 1995 my congregation benefitted from the gen-
erosity of the most gracious Church of Ascension in Virginia Beach,
where we found a loving home in the only such Catholic-Jewish
sharing bond in the world, a direct outcome of a radical] y changed
climate.
The Polish Pope, John Paul II, with his unique personality and
past, did more than all other pontiffs combined to bring the two
faith groups closer to one another, coming as he does from the vine-
yard turned graveyard of European Jewry, experiencing and resist-
ing the German occupation, and being particularly close to a surviv-
ing Jewish childhood friend, His heartfelt embrace of the Jews,
beginning in an historic first visit by a Pope to a synagogue, in
I986 in Rome, addressing them as "our dearly beloved brothers"
and "our elder brothers," culminated in establishing diplomatic
relations with the State of Israel in 1994. Before his extraordinary
papacy comes to an end, he may yet surprise us with further bold
steps to reassure us all that there is no retreat from the visionary
path he so compassionately be.quested to a suffering and expectant
humanity.
WINNER OF 16 VIRGINIA AND 24 NATIONAL PRESS AWARDS
(Rabbi Israel Zoberman, the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Chaverira in Vir-
ginia Beach and pat president of the Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis. is the son of
Polish Ht survivors and was born in Kazakhstan in 1945.)
Southeastern Virginia Jewish News
May 22, 1998
The human drama of forging a nation
Americans look with pride
upon the noble words inscribed on
the Statue of Liberty, beckoning to
our shores the tired, the poor, and
all those yearning to be free.
Throughout our country's history,
the spirit of that message has
offered hope to the world's down-
trodden, and it was they, the
refugees from the four comers of
the globe, who built this country
and made it what it is today.
Only one other country on the
face of this earth has likewise
served as a sanctuary for
refugees of every culture and
background: Israel.
As Israel approaches its 50th
anniversary, its people can point
with pride to an extraordinary
range of accomplishments. From
science and medicine to art and
literature, Israelis have excelled
in every imaginable field and
generously shared their achieve-
ments with the international
community.
But above all, it is the human
drama of Israel ingathering liter-
ally millions of exiles, and in just
a few decades, forging a modern
nation, that has so deeply moved
Americans, who rightly see
much of our own country's spirit
By Rudy Boschwitz in the people of Israel.
On the day Israel was born, its
population numbered some
650,000. During the next four
years, the infant Jewish State
took in nearly 700,000 new
immigrants. They were penniless
immigrants--Holocaust sur-
vivors from Europe whose prop-
erty, but not their spirit, had been
stolen or destroyed by the Nazis,
and Jews who were expelled en
masse from the Arab countries
with just the shirts on their
backs, their homes and property
having been seized by the Arab
governments.
Can one imagine the United
States taking in over 200 million
penniless immigrants during the
next three years? Yet Israel was
not overwhelmed by the burden
of the newcomers. Indeed, it
treated the burden as a blessing.
Secular and religious stood side
by side; fair-skinned immigrants
from northern Europe joined
hands with the dark-skinned
immigrants from the Arabian
peninsula to build their new
country. Incredibly, they did so at
a time when Israel was under
attack by eight Arab armies, an
invasion which was followed by
decades of cross-border Arab ter-
rorist attacks and several subse-
Letters ...
II
(Letters to.the Editor are welcomed but must be signed and include a
phone number. Send to: Editor, SE VA Jewish News, 5029 Corporate
Woods Drive, Suite 225, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4376. Our E-
mail address is ujft@ujft.org
Dear Editor,
A week later, I am still excit-
ed about the Israel at 50 celebra-
tion events.
The hard work and efforts by
the Israel at 50 committees and
UJFT executives need to be rec-
ognized. I was proud to be a part
of Israel at 50 as a spectator.
I coult not attend every event,
but the Klezmer band in New-
port News was great! The out-
door concert and kid play festi-
val was awesome. The Perlman
event was a word class event.
Top award in my book goes
to the Pedman event at the Har-
rison Opera House. It was very
special to spend an evening of
ruach with hundreds of Jews in
Tidewater, and to hear the world
class sounds of a violin played
by Perlman and the Va. Sym-
phony. Also the wonderful Israel
in previous years makes me feel
fortunate, however I will never
hear him play the violin again
like we all did at the Harrison
Opera House. The Schindler's
List music was enough for one
special evening and to have the
concert itself coupled with the
synchronized music to the film
made for a world class evening.
People in big cities like Balti-
more, New York or Los Angeles
don't get to spend a Jewish
evening like we did here in Tide-
water.
As a trustee of our family
foundation, I was proud to sup-
port the Israel at 50 Perlman
event. Please accept on behalf of
all the people that don't care
enough to say it "todab rabah"
and thank you to all the hard
working committee members
and donors that made the Perl-
film made it a night I will never man Event happen.
forget. Shalom, regimes.
Having heard Perlman twice Peter Segaloff, Norfolk __.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 d
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quent invasions. And despite the
strains .of mass immigration and
the hardships of fending offArab
assaults, Israel has developed
one of the world's most vibrant
democracies.
Americans have watched with
admiration as Israel's "ingather-
ing of the exiles" has continued.
While other nations cried croco-
dile tears over famine in Africa,
Israel rescued tens of thousands
of Jews from starvation and civil
strife in Ethiopia. While other
nations cheered from the side-
lines as the Soviet Union col-
lapsed, Israel took in hundreds of
thousands of Soviet refugees,
doing so at a time when the Iraqi
Scud missiles were literally
falling on Tel Aviv.
Americans have done more
than merely admire Israel's mira-
cles from afar. We have proudly
contributed to its triumphs in a
wide range of concrete ways. We
have contributed financial aid, to
help build Israel a modern and
self-sufficient economy world.
We have contributed thou-
sands of idealistic men and
women who have chosen to
make Israel their new home and
have brought Israel the benefits
of their experiences growing up
in America- including two future
prime ministers, Golda Meir and
Benjamin Netanyahu.
As Israel's longtime strategic
ally and as a fellow-democracy,
the United States must do all it
can to build upon that alliance as
Israel enters its 51 st year. We must
continue providing Israel with the
means to defend itself. We must
continue to cooperate closely with
Israel in the struggle against inter-
national terrorist groups, rogue
regimes that sponsor terrorism,
and their mutual foes.
At the same time, we must be
careful to make sure that our
good intentions regarding
Mideast peace do not pave the
way to danger Israel. Our desire
for achieving Arab-Israeli
treaties must not lead us down
the slippery slope of pressuring
Israel to sacrifice its security
needs. Our hopes for progress in
the negotiating process must not
lessen our insistence on Palestin-
ian compliance with the commit-
ments they have made. Our inter-
est in selling U.S. goods, includ-
ing military products, to Arab
markets must not be permitted to
compromise Israel's qualitative
military edge over the Arab
