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his handlers in the Vatican permitted this to take place precisely because his church still is filled with those who hate the Jews.

I'm almost 51, have been Catholic all my life, have lived in 5 different states and have met thousands of Catholics, and have NEVER met one who was anti-Semitic. I'm not saying that there aren't a few. It seems to be more of a European thing, but I don't believe for a minute that the Catholic church is FILLED with people who hate Jews.

As for the Pope's concern about the Palestinians, don't forget that there are MANY Christians living in Israel, and the Pope surely feels a need to minister to them. He can't help it if the Syrian government abused his visit; that reflects more poorly on it than him. I believe the Church did not recognize the the State of Israel until it was reasonable sure that ALL its citizens would be treated fairly, not just the Jewish ones.

Although anti Semitism has been a noticable part of life in America, it has been mild compared to the European version. These days, it seems at times to have faded almost away, Jews are often rather admired.

Yet, because of history, especially recent history, anti Semitism is still understandably a matter of concern for Jews. I always think that the Jewish affinity for leftism has something to do with this fear, there is a hope that government can save them from it.

However, IMO, the reason anti Semitism has not been such a problem here in America is that the American tradition is to look at ourselves more as individuals than members of a group. This may change though, as we move ever to the left, with govermment and society now enforcing racial preferences and identifying us all according to our ethnic group. In fact, once government takes an interest in treating us unequally according to racial or ethnic preference, which it now does, the seeds for institutional anti Semitism have been sowed. Which should be a scary thought, and an ironic one to those who have pushed us leftwards.

It is no accident, IMO, that modern American anti Semitism seems mostly to emanate from college campuses and other strongholds of the Left.

I have to say that I am sort of amazed at the thought of ministers and priests being surprised by the violence and suffering of the Crucifixion, since understanding the Bible is their stock in trade.

It would be the same to hear a meteorologist being shocked at the violence of a hurricane, though I guess I have heard that too.

Suzi: I will second your #194 nearly line by line, from age [53] through your defense of the Pope.

I've never met an anti-Semitic Catholic, or practicing Christian. I have, however, met several liberal and Democrats who are. All the more reason I find it incredible that the Jewish typically vote Democrat.

The Pope's church is the Vatican City.

As far as not recognizing Israel, that was done precisely because of the Jew haters running the church. If it were reasonable that all of Israel's citizens were treated fairly, there wouldn't be Arabs mass-murdering Jews, continuing the Nazi agenda that predates the foundation of the modern state.

"The Arabs are after our blood"
by Christopher Farah
Jan. 23, 2004
In a recent interview with the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Morris not only justified the 1948 expulsion of the Palestinians from Israel, but also said that then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion failed in his task by not expelling all Arabs from the nascent Jewish state... Morris went on to say that renewed expulsions of the Palestinians -- those in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and even those who are Israeli citizens -- could be "entirely reasonable" in circumstances that are "liable to be realized in five or 10 years." ...The Arab and Muslim world, in his eyes, consists of barbarians who don't appreciate the value of human life, barbarians knocking on the gates of the civilized West... Like many other Israeli liberals, Morris' optimism about peace, and whether the Palestinians really wanted it, was shaken by the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000 -- after the Oslo peace accords and the Camp David talks had convinced many that a resolution was at hand. With the collapse of the Camp David talks amid mutual acrimony and the escalation of violence, in particular the rise of suicide bombings within Israel, many Israeli peaceniks became disillusioned, feeling that they had found no true "partner for peace" in the Palestinians... "You go to have coffee with your equally liberal friends, you talk peace and human rights and Palestinian independence, and if you are lucky the place blows up only after you leave," says Tom Segev, an Israeli author who like Morris was dubbed a "new historian" for writing books that challenged the traditional Israeli version of history.