Will the Pope Poop the Patriarch?

Sr. Ruth Lautt, OP, National Director of Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East is dismayed by Latin Patriarch's statement.

She points out that "Jews, like any other people, defined in terms of a shared ethnicity, language, history, culture and/or religion, have the right to constitute an autonomous, sovereign political community. We have been very concerned about recent attacks on the legitimacy of a Jewish state. It is dismaying to see Patriarch Sabbah jump on this bandwagon and take the position that a Jewish state is somehow inherently discriminatory."

...Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College asks, "We must be careful to distinguish between the Jewish people and the Jewish religion.  Presumably His Beatitude supports the creation of a state for the Palestinian people.  Why would he deny this same fundamental right to the Jewish people? " asks

Fr. James Loughran, S.A., Director of the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute adds   "When the modern Jewish state was created in 1948 there was a recognition that Jews were entitled to a homeland.  To now attack that Jewish homeland as per se 'discriminatory'  seems itself motivated by discriminatory intent.  Especially in light of the fact that Israel is known to respect freedom of all religions."