By ARI YASHAR, ARUTZ SHEVA— Pope Francis will arrive in Israel next Sunday, where he intends to make a symbolic gesture apologizing for an historic injustice made by the Vatican 110 years ago. In 1904, Zionist leader Theodor Herzl visited the Vatican to ask Pope Pius the Tenth to help establish a modern Jewish state…
By ARUTZ SHEVA— Palestinian Authority (PA) and Arab Christian sources are already celebrating Pope Francis’s visit to Israel starting next Sunday, saying his choice to begin the trip directly in PA-held Bethlehem is meant to “recognize Palestine” and “oppose the occupation.” “He is taking a helicopter directly from Jordan to Palestine – to Bethlehem. It’s…
By LEA SPEYER, BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS— This week, Pope Francis officially announced that he would be making his way to the Middle East in 2014, visiting Israel and Jordan. The trip is scheduled to take place May 24-26. In Israel, Pope Francis is to visit holy sites in Bethlehem and Jerusalem as well as make…
By AARON KLEIN, WND— Secretary of State John Kerry quietly presented a U.S. plan for eastern Jerusalem that calls for an international administrative mandate to control holy sites in the area, according to informed Palestinian and Israeli diplomatic sources. The exact composition of the international mandate is up for discussion, the sources said, but Kerry’s…
By ASSOCIATED PRESS— Israel’s prime minister plans to meet with the pope on a trip to Italy next week. Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican next Wednesday. Israeli President Shimon Peres, who serves in a largely ceremonial position, met the head of the Catholic church in April. Earlier this week,…
By JTA and AARON KALMAN, TIMES OF ISRAEL— Pope Francis praised Jews for keeping their faith despite the Holocaust and other “terrible trials” throughout history, and reaffirmed Judaism as the “holy root” of Christianity. Francis made the statements in an unprecedented open letter to Eugenio Scalfari, a prominent Italian atheist and founding editor of the…
By TIMES OF ISRAEL— Newly installed Pope Francis accepted an invitation from President Shimon Peres to visit Israel, as the two leaders held their first meeting on Tuesday. The pope accepted the offer ”with willingness and joy,” a Vatican spokesman told reporters. No date has been set for the trip, which would be the second…
By ISRAEL HAYOM— President Shimon Peres will meet with the new head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, next week, during a state visit to Italy. Peres will leave for Rome on Monday, for a visit that also includes meetings with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, newly elected Prime Minister Enrico Letta, and local Jewish leaders.…