It was disheartening to read the Catholic News Service report of the Pope’s visit to the Holy Land (CR, May 21). The Pope was inspirational when he spoke of the terrible plight of Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike. He offered that the Palestinians must have their own state. That is a pipe dream. By Israel’s behavior we know that was never possible.
For almost a century the West has criticized Palestinian violence, yet refuses to offer them anything tangible as an antidote. The victims of events in the last 100 years in the Holy Land are the Palestinians. Europe incurred a debt to the Jews and they assigned that debt to the Palestinians. The church acknowledges that it could have done more for the Jews and all the others who died in World War II, yet that is no defense for our silence. We need to insist that the Palestinians’ human rights be restored, rights no greater or less than those of the Israeli Jews who live on the same land.