German Bishops on a tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories yesterday, slammed Israel and equated the situation in the West Bank and Gaza to that of a Nazi ghetto, where thousands of Jews were placed prior to their ordered extermination by Hitler. The German Bishops had toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel, but only made the controversial statements after crossing into Palestinian territory. The Bishops criticized the peace wall erected to keep Palestinian terrorists out of Israel, and of the checkpoints which are designed to stop "ticking bombs", they stated that only animals were treated in this way.

Quote: ""This morning we saw pictures of the Warsaw ghetto at Yad Vashem and this evening we are going to the Ramallah ghetto." Several hours earlier on Sunday you probably would not have heard German Bishop Gregor Maria Franz Hanke choose such a divisive analogy. But then on Sunday morning he was still in Israel and the rhetoric was considerably different than the one elected by the German Bishops' Conference once they crossed over in to the Palestinian Authority on Sunday evening.

It's only a week since Irish Bishops met with the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern, urging him to cancel the EU-Israel association agreement, and press the Republic of Ireland to divest from companies working in the Palestinian territories, and force Israel to demolish the peace wall, remove security check points and generally surrender to the Palestinian terrorist organizations. It's unbelievable that Bishops representing the Catholic church should chose to use such comments, considering how the Pope refused to excommunicate, let alone condemn Hitler and his exploits. The Pope and Hitler had signed an agreement, that if he conquered Europe, he would re-establish the Holy Roman Empire. Sadly Protestant churches cannot claim innocence on this either, for apparently many of Hitler's speeches were inspired by Martin Luther, who also had a hatred for the Jews despite doing so much for the reformation.

Quote: "I brief, dear princes and lords, those of you who have Jews under your rule-- if my counsel does not please you, find better advice, so that you and we all can be rid of the unbearable, devilish burden of the Jews, lest we become guilty sharers before God in the lies, blasphemy, the defamation, and the curses which the mad Jews indulge in so freely and wantonly against the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, this dear mother, all Christians, all authority, and ourselves. Do not grant them protection, safe-conduct, or communion with us... .With this faithful counsel and warning I wish to cleanse and exonerate my conscience.

What this proves is that none of us our exempt from that anti-Semitic spirit. It stems from a lack of love, arrogance and pride, and wilful ignorance. A lack of love for our fellow man, and in particular God's chosen people the Jews. Pride in despising the "natural branches" of God's olive tree, which have been temporarily cut off so that the Gentiles might be made fellow heirs in Christ. And ignorance of the Scriptures concerning the promises and the will of God for Israel in the end times.

Romans 11:18-23
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

Source YNet News, Medieval Sourcebook