Rabbi raps Nazi-era pope's silence over Holyhoax

Haifa chief rabbi, Shear Yashuv Cohen

Chief Rabbi of Haifa Eliyahu Yosef She'ar Yashuv Cohe has criticized Pope Pius XII's silence on the Holocaust during the Second World War.

Addressing a worldwide meeting of Roman Catholic bishops at the Vatican on Monday, Cohen declared his opposition to the beatification of Nazi-era Pope Pius XII, who headed the Roman Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958.

"We oppose the beatification of Pius XII. We cannot forget his silence on the Holocaust," She'ar Yashuv Cohen told the senior Catholic bishops.

"He should not be seen as a model and he should not be beatified because he did not raise his voice against the Holocaust. He didn't speak because he was afraid or for other personal reasons," he added.

Without mentioning the name of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the rabbi called on the Vatican to condemn remarks by "the president of a certain state in the Middle East at the UN General Assembly last month."

Addressing world leaders at the 63rd UN General Assembly in New York, President Ahmadinejad slammed Zionist atrocities against the Palestinian people, calling for an end to 60 years of carnage and invasion in the occupied lands.

In an interview with Larry King, president Ahmadinejad denied charges of anti-Semitism and differentiated between Zionism and Judaism saying "Iranians have nothing against the Jewish people or their religion."

Concluding his speech Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen called on the Vatican to help Jewish religious leaders protecting Israel "from the hands of its enemies."

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