The Impact Of Zionism And Israel On Christian Attitudes Toward Jews And Judaism

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 8 May 1997

A full understanding of the complex and often difficult relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to Israel and Zionism, based on trust and continuing dialogue, may well hold the key to relations between the two faith communities into the next century.

This according to Sister Audrey Doetzel, director of Relation and Encounter, Sisters of Our Lady of Sion. Sister Doetzel was joined by the Rev. Dr. Robert Everett, director of the Institute for Jewish - Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College at a session of the American Jewish Committee's 91st Annual Meeting entitled "The Impact of Zionism and Israel on Christian Attitudes Toward Jews and Judaism." The meeting continues through Friday at the Capitol Hilton Hotel. Martin S. Kaplan of Boston, chair of AJC's Interreligious Affairs Commission, chaired today's meeting.

Sister Doetzel began by highlighting two recent and significant events in Roman Catholic - Jewish relations, namely, the appointment of a new Ambassador of Israel to the Holy See and the third anniversary of the Fundamental Agreement Between the Holy See and the State of Israel.

"Israel and Zionism are critically significant to Catholic Christianity," she said. "However, one would neither easily nor quickly be able to sort out the complexities and difficulties which have marked the long history of this relationship, the struggles through the centuries for theological understanding of the relationship, and the varied implications of this relationship for today and the future."

To illustrate her point, Sister Doetzel compared the responses of Pope Pius X to Theodore Herzl following the first Zionist Congress in 1897 to that of Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter of 1984.

"The statements of Pius X reveal an anti-Zionism based in a quasi-theology related to the charge of deicide; a supersessionist understanding of Covenant, and the notion of Jews condemned to perpetual wandering as punishment for rejection of the Messiah. Pope John Paul II's statement clearly conveys Judaism's sense of deep intertwining of faith and land."

Yet despite John Paul II's positive attitude toward the State of Israel, Sister Doetzel acknowledged that "Jews, and many Catholics still remain puzzled by the ambiguity of his many silences on the subject of Israel, and by the length of time it took for full diplomatic recognition of Israel by the Vatican."

She stressed that it is important to understand that Roman Catholic Christianity "is not a monolithic entity. We are extremely diverse, and the impact of Zionism and Israel on us reflects this diversity. It is essential to distinguish which concept of Church we are talking about. Are we referring to the hierarchical leadership? To the pilgrim people of God? To our scholars of history, theology and scripture? A very sizable and important component of our Church is primarily influenced, not by the statements of our Church leadership or by the writings of scholars, but by the media.

"When they hear 'Zionism'," she asserted, "many Catholic Christian ears will hear 'strong, exclusivist nationalism.' There is little or no understanding of the 'people-land-nation relationship' and its implications for Jewish self-understanding as a people. What most Christians hear in the words 'Zionism' and 'Israel' is very different from what most Jews think or assume Christians hear. We haven't walked in each other's shoes and so our realities are different, based upon our own unique experiences.

"Israel and Jerusalem are holy to us," she added, "not because of a concrete promise at the heart of a scared Covenant, but because the central, rooting events of our faith happened in that city and that country. As well, a majority of our people cannot begin to comprehend the importance of the State of Israel for Jewish continuity and security because, as a whole, we have not yet begun to comprehend the scope, magnitude, depth and complexity of the issues and concerns raised by the Shoah (Holocaust)."

Sister Doetzel further commented that as a result of "the long history of our woefully inadequate and inappropriate theological understandings and the strong influence of the media's representations and misrepresentations about the Middle East," stereotypes and prejudices often emerge or resurface. She added that people in the Church are quick to "identify with and support the one who is oppressed," and that Catholics, particularly in North America, do not perceive Jews as an oppressed people.

In closing, Sister Doetzel emphasized the importance of affirming current Vatican leadership in its commitment to strengthening the relationship between Jews, Israel and the Church, and in continuing, expanding and deepening the dialogue between the faith communities.

"Zionism and Israel can be, and perhaps need to be, the important entry points for deepening this dialogue. Zionism and Israel concretize for us the focal points of the new theological understandings which have been articulated since Vatican II. Catholic Christianity is in a process of conversion, a process that takes time, effort and the help of God. The effects of a long history of contempt reach deep. I believe that our Church leadership is strongly committed to this process.

"Let us take this dialogue into the pew and the classroom, into the workplace and the home where, for us, it needs to happen in order that the unconscious and deeply-rooted effects of the teaching of contempt can be eradicated and transformed. We need only the courage and commitment to follow through."

Dr. Everett echoed many of Sister Doetzel's sentiments, adding that "perhaps on no other issue are Christians quite as perplexed by the Jewish experience as by the centrality of the land tradition in Judaism, and the importance of the State of Israel to Jews today. The Land of Zion has been an integral part of the Jewish consciousness as reflected in the unbroken covenant between God and the people of Israel. The geo-political dimension of Judaism has often been a stumbling block in the modern dialogue between Jews and Christians."

Turning specifically to the issue of Christian support, or lack of support, for Israel, Dr. Everett noted that throughout Christian tradition there exists the myth of Jewish victimization for the crime of deicide which has contributed to the Christian notion the Jews were to be subjected to suffering and sorrow. "In many ways," he stated, "the Holocaust perpetuates that image on various grounds, while the State of Israel contradicts it. Thus, many Christians empathize with Jews on the Holocaust but have a difficult time understanding Israel. Even Christians inclined to support liberation movements and their use of power to achieve their end are reluctant to support Israel. Jewish power is not acceptable. The State of Israel and the reappraisal of the Christian understanding of the relationship between Judaism and the Church creates a new situation. Never in its history has the Church confronted Jewish sovereignty in its own land, nor has it acknowledged the enduring covenant between Judaism and God since the first century. These two new facts are still being sorted out by the Church.

"Thus," he concluded, "for both Jews and Christians, Zionism and the State of Israel have created new and unexpected circumstances never before encountered. How these events will be understood remains a central point of dialogue for Jews and Christians."

Rabbi A. James Rudin, director of AJC's Interreligious Affairs Department, commented:

"The State of Israel plays a central role in every authentic Christian-Jewish encounter. But no word evokes more emotion and passion that 'Israel.' The reemergence of an independent Jewish State has compelled Christians and Jews to examine themselves, their deepest beliefs, and one another in a new light. Indeed, modern Israel is the litmus test for positive interreligious relations. "This fact will not change as Zionism enters its second century, and as Israel reaches its 50th birthday."

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