Rome: Pope visited the synagogue

Pope Francis will arrive today (Sunday) to visit Rome's central synagogue located in the city's Jewish ghetto, and will be receive there by Rabbi Shmuel Di-Sieni, chief rabbi of Rome, and the city's Jewish community leaders.
This week in Rome is the week of Judaism, marked in a main event to be held at the synagogue attended by the Pope as well as the Israeli Religious Affairs Minister David Azulai.
The Jewish ghetto of Rome was inhabited by Jews for centuries. The establishment of the ghetto followed the claim by Pope Paul IV, that the Jews are the murderers of Christ and are unable to live as equal citizens in the same city with the Catholics. The current pope's visit is a direct statement about a month ago, according to which Jews are not to blame for the death of Jesus.
Before entering the synagogue the Pope will visit together with a delegation of rabbis the entrance to the ghetto at the memorial of the Jewish community who were sent to Auschwitz in 1943, the Pope will then stop in the synagogue courtyard in front of the monument to the terrorist attacks in 1992 and will meet with the families.
In an interview with Rabbi Riccardo Di Sieni, chief rabbi of Rome, on Friday to the local media, the rabbi said that the Pope's visit was "to specify a friendly relationship between Christians and Jews at a time when there has been a significant increase of Islamic terrorism, though some actions of the Vatican recently caused displeasure in the Jewish community." It should be noted that a few months ago the Vatican announced the formal recognition of a Palestinian state, a statement which disappointed Israel and the Jewish community in Rome.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!