Ignorance + Influence = Hatred

"That the Jews are connected with God in a special way and that God does not allow that bond to fail is entirely obvious. We wait for the instant in which Israel will say yes to Christ, but we know that it has a special mission in history now ... which is significant for the world."

-- from Ratzinger's book, "God and the World," published October 2000, as reported by National Catholic Reporter.

"Our Christian conviction is that Christ is also the messiah of Israel. Certainly it is in the hands of God how and when the unification of Jews and Christians into the people of God will take place."

-- from "God and the World," published October 2000, as reported by National Catholic Reporter.

Pope Benedict XVI on record describing Catholic stand on Judaism: typical condescending viewpoint that if a group doesn't accept Jesus Christ as God, it's only a matter of time until they do. In the meantime, it's OK to let these people live. Thanks.

This attitude of indulgence, short of actual tolerance, can only keep the status quo anti-Jewish sentiment alive in anyone who is inclined that way in the first place. 60-year anniversaries are being celebrated and planned in Europe to mark the liberation of Europe from Nazi control. As the end of concentration camps is noted, this survey appears in the current edition of Response, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's bulletin on the upsurge of anti-Semitism in Europe:

England: A shocking 60% of 35-year-olds and younger
polled in England have never heard of Auschwitz, and a Telegraph poll stated that only 17% of those polled knew that millions of people had perished in the Holocaust.

Sweden: A third of young people recently polled were skeptical that the holocaust really happened.

Germany: 62% of those polled are tired of hearing about the six million Jews killed during WWII, while 52% believe that
Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is not fundamentally different from the Nazi's treatment of Jews.

Holland: A recent report from the largest Dutch Jewish community organization noted that "there is less and less knowledge of the fact that six million Jews were murdered in WWII."

Canada: Less than a quarter of respondents to a new National Post poll could not say whether the Jews were to blame for the Holocaust.

Each of us can fight ignorance and intolerance by contributing to organizations who research and report on the truth and the location of hate groups and individuals: The Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.