FORTY-MEMBER WIESENTHAL CENTER DELEGATION MEETS IN PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH POPE TO DISCUSS GLOBAL TERRORISM AND IRAN’S RECENT CALL FOR THE OBLITERATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

40 Leaders from the Simon Wiesenthal Center delegation met today with Pope Benedict XVI at a private audience at the Vatican. In his remarks, Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, pictured, said: “Your Holiness, we appreciate very much your kind invitation to dialogue and exchange views, particularly in these critical times in a world desperate for moral clarity and civility.  It is very appropriate that the Wiesenthal Center’s third visit to the Vatican coincides with the 40th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the historic Declaration of the Second Vatican Council which condemned ‘antisemitism directed against the Jews at whatever time and by whomsoever.’  It is that Declaration that set the stage for meetings such as ours.  Prior to that historic step, Jews were often held in contempt and derided as an accursed people.  Millions suffered through the ages because they were none to defend them.

Only in our lifetime, did a handful of great leaders led by Pope John XXIII muster the courage to speak out against these flagrant violations of G-d’s law; none with greater conviction and determination then Pope John Paul II, whose message of friendship and inclusion of the Jewish people touched the hearts of millions around the world.  We are grateful, Your Holiness of your affirmation of that friendship as you declared during your visit to the synagogue in Cologne when you said,  ‘I wish to re-affirm that I intend to continue on the path to improve relations and friendship with the Jewish people, following the decisive lead given by Pope John Paul II.’

(Photo left: SWC Executive Director, Rabbi Meyer May with Pope Benedict XVI).

A few weeks ago, humanity lost another great man of conviction, Simon Wiesenthal, often referred to as the ‘Conscience of the Holocaust’ - who lost 89 members of his family and emerged from the inferno of the death camps, not to seek vengeance, but in search of justice on behalf of those who could no longer speak for themselves.  He lived his message that, ‘freedom is not a gift from heaven, it is something we must fight for each and every day,’ that if we do not speak out against the murderers of today, then we will force our children and grandchildren to contend with the murderers of tomorrow.  It is that message that inspires us to speak out when Christians are forsaken in North Korean Gulags, when Muslims suffer in Darfur, when innocent Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists are murdered in suicide attacks ­ the greatest crime of the 21st century.  Tragically Mr. Wiesenthal’s message still resonates today.  Today, a mere sixty years after Auschwitz, antisemitism has again found a fertile home in Europe. Those who attacked Jews and Jewish institutions yesterday are threatening the stability of France today.

(Photo below: Reflecting on Wiesenthal Legacy: Pope Benadict XVI receiving special issue of RESPONSE magazine commemorating the legacy of the late Simon Wiesenthal.)

In our time, the greatest threat to mankind comes not from secularists and atheists, but from religious fanatics and zealots.  Today, those who help recruit and inspire terrorists to murder innocent civilians by promising them a place in heaven are not ungodly political leaders, but fundamentalist Imans and Mullahs who claim obedience to their Creator.  The President of Iran, a religious man who prays five times a day has re-enunciated the words of Adolf Hitler, and openly called for the obliteration of the State of Israel in violation of the United Nations Charter; a threat that has drawn rebuke from the Vatican but not yet from the United Nations General Assembly.  Recent history has taught us the brutal consequences of a world silent in the face of evil.  Allowing such a regime to acquire nuclear weapons would be like entrusting an addict to stand guard over his drugs.

The future of civilization depends on our ability to reach out and find that coalition of the good; those who still believe that nothing enduring was ever created by hate, no future made brighter by tyranny, no faith strengthened by fanaticism. We must do everything in our power to unite those tenets of the righteous and the just to fulfill our share of Tikun Olam (helping to repair the world), so that we can restore the balance and return to our Creator, the magnificent world he intended ­ ‘And G-d saw all that he made and behold it was very good.’”  (Genesis I:21)

(Photo: Chairman, SWC Board of Trustees, Larry Mizel and Rabbi Hier presenting Pope Benedict a plaque depicting the SWC's, Center for Human Dignity, currently under construction in Jerusalem.)

In his response, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the common spiritual bonds that should serve to inspire all to work together for the betterment of future generations, stating:

Dear Friends,

I welcome you, the representatives of the SimonWiesenthalCenter, to the Vatican.

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate, which formulated the principles that have guided the Church’s efforts to promote better understanding between Jews and Catholics. After a difficult and painful history, relations between our two communities are presently taking a new, more positive, direction. We must continue to advance along the path of mutual respect and dialogue, inspired by our shared spiritual heritage and committed to an ever more effective cooperation in the service of the human family.

Christians and Jews can do much to enable coming generations to live in harmony and respect for the dignity with which every human being has been endowed by the Creator. I express the hope, shared by men and women of good will everywhere, that this century will see our world emerge from the web of conflict and violence, and sow the seeds for a future of reconciliation, justice and peace. Upon all of you I invoke an abundance of divine blessings.

Pope Benedict responded with a "God Willing" to Rabbi Hier's invitation for the Pontiff to participate in opening of the Wiesenthal Center’s new Center for Human Dignity that has commenced construction in the heart of Jerusalem. The Center of Human Dignity, Hier said, will be ‘an institution that will promote mutual respect and social responsibility between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors throughout the region.’

For more information and/or to schedule an interview, contact the Center’s Public Relations department, 310-553-9036.