Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, was saved from the Holocaust by his Polish nanny who had him baptized and raised as a Catholic until his parents reclaimed him at the end of the war.
Yesterday he issued the following statement on the death of John Paul II:
Pope John Paul II revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations. He denounced anti-Semitism as a "sin against God and humanity." He was the first Pope in history to visit the central synagogue in Rome, where he recognized Jews as elder brothers, announcing to the Chief Rabbi of Rome and Jews around the world: "I am Joseph, your brother."
He normalized relations with the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel, and then made his historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he visited Yad Vashem and prayed at the Western Wall.
In his exceptional teachings, writings and pronouncements, John Paul II has denounced the evils that led to the Holocaust and questioned whether the Church’s attitudes provided an environment for the deadly anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.
Most importantly, the Pope rejected the destructive concept of supersessionism and has recognized the special relationship between Christianity and the Jewish people, while sharing his understanding of Judaism as a living heritage, of the permanent validity of God’s covenant with the Jewish people.
He was a man of God in every sense and a true friend whose visionary leadership will be sorely missed.
On September 29, 1994, Pope John Paul II addressed a delegation from the Anti-Defamation League following the presentation of credentials by the first Ambassador of Israel to the Vatican:
These convictions lie behind the following words which I wrote on the occasion of the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto: "As Christians and Jews, following the example of the faith of Abraham, we are called to be a blessing for the world [cf. Gen. 12:2]. This is the common task awaiting us.
It is therefore necessary for us, Christians and Jews, to be first a blessing to one another. This will effectively occur if we are united in the face of evils which are still threatening: indifference and prejudice, as well as displays of anti-Semitism" (April 21, 1993).
Was it not the bond of friendship which in many cases during the terrible days of the past inspired the courage of Christians who helped their Jewish brothers and sisters, even at the cost of their own lives? Truly, nobody has greater love than the one who lays down his life for his friends (cf. John 5:13).
Friendship stands against exclusion and makes people stand together in the face of threat. Let our friendship, strengthened by our respect for divine Providence, bring us ever closer, for the good of the whole world.
His memory will be a blessing.