vatican

In the Aggadah Bibliography: A.D. Rosenthal, Megillat ha-Tevaḥ, 2 (1929), Vashti was the granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar (Meg. 10a). 81–82. [Yehuda Slutsky] She witnessed the Persian conquest of Babylon from her fa- ther, Belshazzar. On the night that the city fell, Vashti was so alarmed by the confusion that, unaware that Belshazzar had VASLUI, district capital in Moldavia, E. Romania. The old- already been killed, she ran to his private quarters. There she est tombstones in the Jewish cemetery indicate that Jews set- was confronted by Darius who, out of compassion for her, be- tled there in the first half of the 18t century, most of them trothed her to his son, Ahasuerus (Yalk. Est. 1049). Her action from *Bukovina and *Galicia, and from the 1850s many Jew- in having her banquet for women “in the royal house which ish *Cantonists who fled from Russia. In 1851 two Jewish in- belonged to Ahasuerus” (Esth. 1:9) was that her guests would habitants were raised to the nobility (boyarhood) for service be hostages if their husbands should rise and rebel against the to Vaslui. The early Jewish population was joined later on by king (Est. R. 3:10). According to R. Abun, however, the loca- Jews expelled from villages in the vicinity of Vaslui (in 1867, tion of the banquet was dictated by the consideration that 1889, 1901, and 1908). The Jewish population numbered 892 “women would sooner have well-decorated rooms and beauti- in 1839, 1,202 (25.3 of the total) in 1859, and 2,823 (41) in ful clothes, than eat fatted calves” (ibid.). Vashti had low moral 1889; in 1899 their number increased to 3,747. Difficulties were standards: it was not for reasons of modesty that she refused to encountered in the organization of the community because comply with Ahasuerus’ command to appear before his guests the merchants and the artisans each had their own institu- (Esth. 1:11) in the nude. She was as immoral as her husband tions, and even their own rabbis. In 1877 a primary school (Meg. 12a). Her refusal was occasioned either by the fact that was founded, but the craftsmen had their owntalmud torah. she was suffering from leprosy (ibid.), or by fear for Ahasuerus’ In 1904 an attempt was made to unite the community’s insti- life. She remonstrated with him: “If they consider me beauti- tutions but this lasted only two years. The community was fi- ful, they will want to enjoy me themselves, and will kill you; nally unified only in 1923. if they consider me plain, I shall be a disgrace to you” (Est. Zionist activity began in Vaslui in the 1880s. Rabbis of R. 3:14). When Ahasuerus nevertheless repeated his request, the town included Alexander Taubes (1841–1913) and Benja- Vashti insulted him by reminding him of his lowly descent as min Rabinovici. Ẓaddikim of the Ruzhin-Buhus dynasty lived servant to her father (cf. Song R. 3:5), Belshazzar, before he in the town. On the eve of World War II there were in Vaslui was murdered. According to one version, she exclaimed: “You eight prayer rooms, a hospital and clinic, an old-age home, a used to be the stable boy of my father’s house, and you were mikveh, a primary school, and a kindergarten. After the natu- used to bringing naked harlots before you. Now that you have ralization laws were passed (in 1919), two to six Jews were ac- ascended the throne you have still not changed your habits” tive in the local council. In 1947 the Jewish population num- (ibid.). She was put to death on the Sabbath because, when she bered 3,200, decreasing to 2,400 in 1950. In 1960 there were was queen, she would force the daughters of Israel to strip and about 70 Jewish families with one synagogue. work in the nude, on the Sabbath (Meg. ibid.). Bibliography: I. Brociner, Chestiunea israeliţilor români…, 1 (1910), 114–6; Almanachul ziarului Tribuna evreeascaˇ, 1 (1937/38), Bibliography: Cooke, North Semitic Inscriptions (1903), 242–8; N. Leven, Cinquante ans d’histoire, 1 (1911), 121, 143; I. Loeb, no. 85; L.B. Paton, Esther (ICC, 1908), 66–67, 88–89, 142ff. IN THE La situation des Israélites en Turquie, en Serbie et en Roumanie (1877), AGGADAH: Ginzberg, Legends, index; I. Ḥasida, Ishei ha-Tanakh 168; PK Romanyah, 120–3. (1964), 142. [Theodor Lavi]

VASILKOV, city in Kiev district, Ukraine. In 1648 Vasilkov VATICAN, residence of the *pope, who is the ruler of Vati- was conquered by *Chmielnicki’s Cossacks who massacred can City in . its inhabitants, Jews and Poles alike. Since Vasilkov was an- nexed to Russia in 1686, no Jewish community existed there The Vatican and Zionism until the second partition of Poland in 1792. There were 1,478 Theodor Herzl was the first Zionist leader to understand the Jews in Vasilkov in 1799, 2,407 in 1847, and 5,156 (39.2 of the political importance of the Catholic Church in the Middle total population) in 1897. Vasilkov was a ḥasidic community East. He also realized the necessity for Zionists to come to and for some time David b. Nahum *Twersky of Chernobyl terms with the Church and gain its support or at least try lived there. The Jews in Vasilkov engaged in crafts, small-scale to neutralize its influence. The Vatican wished to safeguard business, and worked in local tanneries. In February 1919, S. Catholic rights in the holy places, and therefore Herzl was *Petlyura’s armies conducted pogroms in Vasilkov, massacring ready to propose an extraterritorial status for the holy places 50 Jews and 60 Russians suspected of being Communists; the when he was received by the nuncio in Vienna, Msgr. Anto- Jewish community was forced to pay a special contribution. nio Agliardi, on May 19, 1896, a short time after the publica- When the Soviet regime was established, Jewish communal life tion of his book The Jewish State.Herzl repeated the idea of was discontinued. In 1926 the Jews in Vasilkov numbered 3,061 extraterritoriality to Secretary of State Cardinal Rafael Merry (14.4 of the total population). In 1941 the Jews of Vasilkov del Val on January 22, 1904, but Merry del Val answered that were exterminated by the Nazis. the holy places could not be regarded as entities separate

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 20 479 vatican from the Holy Land. On January 25 Herzl was received by Belgian representative, Jules Van den Heuvel: “The transfor- the pope, *Pius X, who told him: “We cannot prevent the Jews mation of Palestine into a Jewish state would not only endan- from going to Jerusalem but we could never sanction it. The ger the Holy Places and injure the feelings of all Christians, it Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot rec- would also be very harmful for the country itself.” ognize the Jewish people. If you come to Palestine and settle A few days later, on December 28, the pope expressed his your people there, we will have churches and priests ready to fear to De Salis, the British representative, that Great Britain baptize all of you.” might hand Palestine over “to the Jews to the detriment of the During World War I new realities were changing the po- Christian interests.” litical situation in the Middle East. The Vatican was aware at In January 1919 the Peace Conference met in Versailles a very early stage of the secret *Sykes-Picot Agreement divid- (France) but the was not admitted to it. The reason ing the region between France and Great Britain and putting was that had included Article 15 in the secret London the central part of Palestine under an international regime. Treaty, excluding the Vatican from the future conference, France had been for centuries the protecting power for Cath- since the question of Rome was still open between them. On olics in the Ottoman Empire, but the Holy See hinted that March 10, 1919, the pope convened a secret consistory in the the Vatican would not be averse to British patronage of the Vatican and said that “it would be a terrible grief for us and for Holy Places. This is what Sir Mark *Sykes heard on April 11, all Christians if infidels [in Palestine] were placed in a privi- 1917, from Msgr. Eugenio Pacelli, undersecretary for extraor- leged and prominent position; much more if those most holy dinary affairs at the Secretariat of State, and a few days later sanctuaries of the Christian religion were given into the charge from Pope *Benedict XV himself. of non-Christians.” As Gasparri explained some days later to Following the advice of Sykes, Nahum *Sokolow of the the Belgian representative: “The danger that we most fear is Zionist Executive in London met Msgr. Pacelli on April 29, the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. We would have 1917, and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Gasparri on May 1, found nothing wrong in Jews entering that country, and set- and was received by the pope on May 4, 1917. Pacelli wanted ting up agricultural colonies. But that they be given the rule clear geographical boundaries acceptable to the Vatican to be over the Holy Places is intolerable for Christians.” demarcated, while Gasparri wanted the Church to have a “re- Three cardinals visited Palestine in those years: the Brit- served zone” that would include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Naz- ish Francis Bourne, the Italian Filippo Giustini, and the French areth, Tiberias, and Jericho. The pope said: “The problem of Louis Ernest Dubois. In January 1919 Cardinal Bourne sent the holy places is of extraordinary importance for us. The sa- a letter to the British prime minister and to the foreign sec- cred rights must be protected. We will settle this between the retary, writing that Zionism had not received the approval of Church and the Great Powers. You must respect those rights the Holy See, and if the Jews would “ever again dominate and to their full extent.” rule the country, it would be an outrage to Christianity and its Sokolow could well understand that the Holy See had Divine founder.” In October 1919 Cardinal Giustini cabled the clear territorial claims on the central part of Palestine. Fur- pope from Jerusalem asking for his intervention “to prevent thermore the Holy See would not accept a solution giving ex- the reestablishment of Zionist Israel in Palestine.” Cardinal traterritorial status to the holy places, and would in any case Dubois was reported in March 1920 to have said that Jewish negotiate with the Great Powers, not with the Zionists. immigration to Palestine and the establishment of a Zionist Despite the content of these talks, the Zionists were im- state should not be permitted. On July 20, 1920, the Latin pa- pressed by the positive manner of the Church’s representa- triarch of Jerusalem, Msgr. Luigi Barlassina, also published a tives. On the basis of Sokolow’s reports Dr. Chaim *Weiz- pastoral letter strongly protesting against the Great Powers’ mann could announce to a Zionist conference in London on decision to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine. He May 20, 1917: “We have assurances from the highest Catholic added: “Let Palestine be internationalized rather than some- circles that they will favor the establishment of a Jewish Na- day be the servant of Zionism.” tional Home in Palestine and from their religious point of view On May Day 1921, the Jewish workers in Jaffa organized they see no objections to it and no reason why we should not a celebration and parade in the streets. The Arabs attacked be good neighbors.” Nothing could have been further from them and about 50 Jews and the same number of Arabs were the truth. By “good neighbors” the pope probably meant that killed and many hundreds injured. Instead of condemning the Vatican would maintain a presence in the central area of the aggressors, the Osservatore Romano (the Vatican daily) Palestine that was to be internationalized, while the Zionists explained a few days later that the Bolsheviks had infiltrated would remain outside of it in the bordering areas. Palestine thanks to the Zionist Organization. The paper also At the end of the year 1917 two events dramatically raised the question of whether the Bolshevik Revolution was changed the situation of Palestine: the Balfour Declaration of coordinated with Zionism or whether Zionism had raised a November 2, and the conquest of Jerusalem by British troops Bolshevik viper in its bosom. on December 9. A few days later Pope Benedict XV attacked Zionism in Cardinal Gasparri clearly expressed opposition to a Jew- his allocution to the cardinals of June 13, 1921. He said that ish state in Palestine when he said on December 18, 1917, to the the Jews were given a “position of preponderance and privi-

480 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 20 vatican lege in Palestine”; that their activity is meant “to take away Msgr. Domenico Tardini, the Vatican undersecretary of state, the sacred character of the Holy Places”; he admitted that no told a British diplomat in 1938: “There was no real reason why damage should “be done to the rights of the Jewish element” [the Jews] should be back in Palestine. Why should not a nice but “they must in no way be put above the just rights of the place be found for them, for instance, in South America?” Christians.” In May 1939 the British government published the Mac- Pope Benedict XV died in January 1922 and a month Donald White Paper, considered to be a betrayal by Weiz- later, a new pope was elected, assuming the name *Pius XI. Dr. mann. Land regulations prohibited or restricted land sales, Weizmann, the leader of the Zionist Organization in London, Jewish immigrants were limited to 75,000 during the next met Secretary of State Cardinal Gasparri on April 2, 1922. Gas- five years and later would be subject to Arab consent. An in- parri did not hide his antagonism to Zionism and gave voice dependent Palestinian state would be created at the end of a to a series of objections to the draft text of the Mandate over transition period of 10 years. Palestine concerning religious rights, the recognition of the TheOsservatore Romano remarked with satisfaction that Jewish Agency, and Article 14 on a commission for the holy “the White Paper denied the historical basis of the Zionist places. Weizmann learned on this occasion that the Vatican’s claims.” opposition to the Mandate would take the form of an official During World War II, while the Holocaust was already memorandum submitted to the League of Nations. raging and hundreds of thousands of Jews were being killed During Weizmann’s second meeting with Cardinal Gas- by the Nazis, anti-Zionist attitudes prevailed among Vatican parri on April 20, 1922, Gasparri said that Zionist coloniza- diplomats. tion work caused him no anxiety, but added: “It is your uni- Msgr. Domenico Tardini wrote in March 1943 that the versity that I fear.” Holy See “has never approved the project of making Pales- On May 15, 1922, Cardinal Gasparri sent an official note tine a Jewish home.” Cardinal Maglione, secretary of state, to try to stop, at the very last moment, the assignment of the wrote in May 1943 to his apostolic delegate in the United Mandate to Great Britain. The note sent to the League of Na- States, Cicognani, that it would not be difficult “if one wants tions stated that the Holy See cannot agree to “the Jews being to establish a ‘Jewish Home,’ to find other territories [than given a privileged and preponderant position in Palestine vis- Palestine] which could better fulfill this aim, while Palestine, à-vis the Catholics” or to “the religious rights of the Christians under Jewish predominance, would bring new and grave in- being inadequately safeguarded.” The Holy See also opposed ternational problems.” the recognition of the Jewish Agency, and the favoring of im- Cardinal Maglione wrote in the same month that “Catho- migration and naturalization of Jews. Nevertheless a few weeks lics would be wounded in their religious sentiments and would later, on July 22, 1922, the League of Nations approved Great rightly fear for their rights if Palestine became the exclusive Britain as the mandatory power and included the Balfour Dec- property of the Jews.” laration in the Preamble to the Mandate. The Vatican finally In August 1944 the secretariat of state of the Holy See accepted the British Mandate as the lesser evil. wrote that they regarded Palestine “not as a Jewish home or a In the 1920s the Vatican opposed Zionism for a variety possible Arab home but also as a Catholic home and Catho- of reasons. They believed the Zionists were antireligious, that lic center.” Zionist immigration would sweep the Christians out of Pal- On April 10, 1945, while the war was still going on in estine and destroy the Christian character of the country, and Europe, Moshe Shertok (later *Sharett) of the Jewish Agency that the Jews were causing radical changes in the traditional was received by Pope *Pius XII. He hoped for the “moral life-style of the local population and damaging moral values. support” of the Catholic Church for “our renewed existence During this period the Vatican was strongly opposed to Jewish in Palestine.” But he did not receive any support; on the con- statehood in the Holy Land. In August 1929 the Arabs attacked trary the Holy See started a campaign for the internationaliza- the Jewish quarters in Hebron, Safed, and other places. The tion of Jerusalem, supported by France. The Vatican consid- daily Osservatore Romano, rather than blaming the Arabs for ered Zionism to be an enemy, only suitable as a springboard the attack, wrote that it was “the politics of Zionism, and not for a new alliance between Christians and Moslems in Pal- the religion of Israel, which lay at the root of the trouble.” estine. In 1936 the Arabs started the Great Arab Rebellion which In 1947 Great Britain decided to renounce the Mandate resulted in many acts of violence against the Jews. The Brit- and to deliver the Palestine issue over to the . ish government sent the *Peel Commission, which published On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly approved Reso- its proposal for partition in 1937, and on August 6 the Vatican lution No. 181 on the partition of Palestine and the creation of sent a verbal note in which it expressed its objection to the a corpus separatum for Jerusalem and its environs. The Holy principle of partition and requested that all Holy Places be See avoided interfering in the vote, probably in order not to included in the British zone. jeopardize the internationalization of Jerusalem. The war that In October 1938 the Osservatore Romano wrote that “only the Arab states opened against the State of Israel, and which one of the two races which contended the hegemony in Pales- made null and void the project of internationalization, started tine can live in the country.” Along the same lines of thought, even before the state was proclaimed.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 20 481 vatican

The Vatican and the State of Israel pressed for the death of Christ; still what happened in His The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 ran counter to certain passion cannot be blamed upon all the Jews then living nor theological ideas in the Catholic Church according to which the Jews of today.” The text was influenced by politics and it the Jews were condemned to remain homeless because of the was watered down because of the violent protest of the Arab crime of deicide. Some believe that the Holy See did not op- states. pose the partition plan of the United Nations in 1947 because After the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967, Pope Paul VI, it included Jerusalem in an international “corpus separatum.” on June 26, 1967, recalled that he had done his best “to avoid Pope Pius XII wrote three encyclicals on the question of the at least to Jerusalem the suffering and the damages of the war” Holy Land. The first one,Auspicia quaedam of May 1, 1948, and that he was very saddened by the conditions of the Pal- expressed hope “that the situation in Palestine may at long estinian refugees, and said that “the Holy City of Jerusalem last be settled justly and thereby concord and peace be also should remain for ever a town of God, a free oasis of peace and happily established.” prayer, with its own statute internationally guaranteed.” In the second, In multiplicibus, of October 24, 1948, the Thus the old formula for seeking the internationalization pope said that “it would be opportune to give Jerusalem and of Jerusalem and its environs was changed into one that spoke its outskirts, where are found so many and such precious of an “internationally guaranteed statute.” memories of the life and death of the Savior, an international In July 1967 Msgr. Angelo Felici, undersecretary for ex- character which, in the present circumstances, seems to of- traordinary affairs at the Vatican Secretariat of State arrived fer a better guarantee for the protection of the sanctuaries. in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Levi *Eshkol. The pope It would also be necessary to assure, with international guar- in his allocution of December 23, 1968, had spoken of his wish antees, both free access to Holy Places scattered throughout to see “an internationally guaranteed agreement on the ques- Palestine, and the freedom of worship and the respect of cus- tion of Jerusalem and the Holy Places.” toms and religious traditions.” On October 6, 1969, the pope received the Israeli foreign In his third encyclical, In redemptoris nostr, of April 15, minister, Abba *Eban, and discussed the question of “the ref- 1949, Pope Pius XII advocated giving “to Jerusalem and its ugees, the holy places, and the unique and sacred character surroundings a juridical statute internationally guaranteed” of Jerusalem.” and appealed that all rights of the Catholics “should be pre- On December 22, 1969, the traditional Christmas wishes served inviolate.” for the Arab refugees and the special mention of the Chris- Some Catholic states opposed the acceptance of Israel in tian communities in Palestine expressed a new preoccupation. the United Nations on May 11, 1949, because Israel had “failed “They have diminished and they are diminishing, the faith- to carry out the full internationalization scheme” for Jeru- ful of Jesus in that blessed earth,” said the Pope. This was the salem. The dispute on the war damages to churches and other first time that the pope had expressed publicly his concerns properties in Israel was solved satisfactorily for the Holy See about the diminishing number of Catholics in the Holy Land, in 1955 when Msgr. Antonio Vergani received the final com- a preoccupation would manifest itself time and again in his pensation for war damages to Catholic institutions. But even subsequent speeches. the name of the State of Israel was omitted by the Osservatore In January 1972, Deputy Secretary of State Msgr. Giovanni Romano in 1955 when a visit of the *Israel Philharmonic Or- Benelli visited Israel and had several talks with Minister of Fi- chestra to the Vatican was described as that of “Jewish mu- nance Pinḥas *Sapir, and Minister of Justice Ya’akov Shimshon sicians of fourteen different nationalities.” The coronation of *Shapiro on the question of the sale of the Notre Dame de Pope *John XXIII in 1958 was attended by Ambassador Eli- France building to the Hebrew University. The assumption- yahu *Sasson as a “special delegate of the State of Israel.” This, ist had sold the monastery but according to the Vatican the it was later claimed by the Vatican, proved that the Holy See sale had to be considered null and void because Canon Law did recognize the State of Israel even if it did not establish required authorization by the Vatican. A hearing in an Israeli normal diplomatic relations. court in Jerusalem was curtailed by the Israeli government’s On January 5, 1964, *Paul VI became the first pope to visit decision to cancel the sale, but no reciprocal gesture of good- Israel. He said in Megiddo, where he entered Israel: “We are will was made by the Holy See. The Vatican transformed the coming as pilgrims, we come to venerate the Holy Places; we building into a modern hotel and for years refused to pay come to pray.” He ended his speech with the Hebrew words municipal taxes “for services rendered.” Finally, in 1987, the “Shalom, shalom.” But Paul VI never addressed President Sha- Vatican consented to pay the Jerusalem municipality a to- zar by his title; even when he sent a telegram with his thanks, ken sum. it was sent to Tel Aviv, not to Jerusalem, the residence of the On December 22, 1972, in his customary allocution to president of the State of Israel. Every effort was made to stress the Holy College on the eve of Christmas, the pope criticized the non-recognition of Israel by the Holy See. “situations without a clear juridical basis, internationally rec- The Ecumenical Council Vatican II approved in 1965 an ognized and guaranteed,” referring to Jerusalem, where also important declaration, Nostra Aetate, modifying the accusa- the followers of Christ “must feel themselves full ‘citizens.’” tion of deicide and stating: “True, authorities of the Jews… He spoke also of the sons of the Palestinian people waiting

482 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 20 vatican for years “for an equitable recognition of their aspirations, not The new pope, *John Paul II, was born in Poland, so that in opposition to but in necessary harmony with the rights of for the first time in centuries the pope was not an Italian. An other peoples.” Israeli delegation participated in the funeral of the previous On January 15, 1973, Israeli Prime Minister Golda *Meir pope and the coronation ceremony of the new pope, whom was received in a private audience by Pope Paul VI. It was the it invited to visit Israel. first official visit of this kind, and therefore an important one. The permanent observer of the Holy See to the United The final communiqué recalled the suffering of the Jewish Nations made a declaration on Jerusalem on December 3, people; the pope in his humanitarian mission was interested 1979, in which he explained the meaning of a “special statute in the Arab refugee problem and the problems of the Christian internationally guaranteed” for Jerusalem. The content of this communities living in the Holy Land, while in terms of his statute would include two orders of guarantees: parity for the religious mission he expressed concern about the Holy Places three religious communities regarding freedom of worship and the universal and holy character of Jerusalem. and access to the Holy Places; and equal enjoyment of rights At the end of the same year, after the Yom Kippur War, by the three religious communities, with guarantees for the during which Israel was attacked by and , the pope promotion of their spiritual, cultural, civil, and social life, in- dedicated most of his yearly message of December 21, 1973, cluding adequate opportunities for economic progress, edu- to the cardinals, to the Middle East. He expressed his ap- cation, and employment. proval of the Peace Conference convening on that same day in Pope John Paul II spoke about the State of Israel on Octo- Geneva, but considered it incomplete in terms of represen- ber 5, 1980, in Otranto, saying: “The Jewish people, after tragic tation, referring probably to the nonparticipation of the experiences connected with the extermination of so many sons PLO. The Holy See was ready “to offer cooperation … in and daughters, driven by desire for security, has established agreements that would guarantee to all parties concerned a the State of Israel. At the same time, the painful condition of calm and secure existence and the recognition of respective the Palestinian people was created, as a large part of it were rights.” The pope spoke of the hundreds of thousand of Arab extirpated from their land.” refugees “living in desperate conditions”; even if their cause Yitzhak *Shamir, Israeli minister for foreign affairs, was “has been endangered by actions that are repugnant to the received on January 7, 1982, by the pope, who stressed the civil conscience of people and are in no case justified, it is a importance of the Palestinian question, which should find cause that demands human consideration and calls with the a solution “taking into account also the problem of security voice of abandoned and innocent masses for a just and gen- for the State of Israel.” The pope also spoke about “a just and erous response.” agreed solution for the question of Jerusalem,” a center for the On December 9, 1974, Msgr. Hilarion Capucci, the Greek three religions. Shamir emphasized the concessions made by Catholic archbishop (melkite) of Jerusalem and vicar of the Israel in order to reach the peace agreement with Egypt and Patriarch Maximos, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment; his concerns about the arms race in the area and the serious he was found guilty of smuggling arms and explosives for the problem of terrorism. Fatah organization from Lebanon into Israel, exploiting his On September 15, 1982, the pope received Yasser *Ara- . Some years later, on November 6, 1977, fat, who had just been forced to abandon Beirut, giving him President Ephraim *Katzir, in response to a personal letter a political victory after a military defeat. from the pope, commuted the sentence and Archbishop Ca- Pope John Paul II dedicated an Apostolic Letter, “Re- pucci was immediately released. The written promise of the demptionis Anno,” on April 20, 1984, to the question of Jeru- pope that Msgr. Capucci would not “bring any harm to the salem and the Holy Land. The pope wrote: “Jews ardently love State of Israel,” i.e., would no more indulge in political activ- [Jerusalem] and in every age venerate her memory, abundant ity, was not respected and the prelate participated in many as she is in many remains and monuments from the time of propaganda meetings organized by the PLO after regaining David who chose her as the capital, and of Solomon who built his freedom. the Temple there. Therefore they turn their minds to her daily, The foreign minister of Israel, Moshe *Dayan, was re- one may say, and point to her as the symbol of their nation.” ceived in private audience by the pope on January 12, 1978. After explaining why Jerusalem is holy also to the Chris- The pope stressed again his concerns about the question of tians and the Moslems, he recalled the Holy See’s appeals for Jerusalem, stating that the “well-known solution proposed by an adequate solution. He said: “Not only the monuments or the Holy See for Jerusalem could satisfy the unique and reli- the sacred places, but the whole historical Jerusalem and the gious character of the city.” The Israeli side stressed what had existence of religious communities, their situation and future been done “to guarantee the protection of the Holy Places of cannot but affect everyone and interest everyone.” all religions and free access to them.” Shimon *Peres, then prime minister, was received by the Paul VI died on August 6, 1978. His successor was Pope pope on February 19, 1985, and for almost an hour discussed John Paul I, who had been patriarch of Venice and as such the peace process. It was clear that Peres would not press for had good relations with the Jews. He died suddenly on Sep- the establishment of normal diplomatic relations nor extend a tember 28, 1978. formal invitation to the pope to visit Israel, leaving the initia-

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 20 483 vatican tive to the Holy See. Seemingly in the conversation with Sec- arrive.” Probably the Holy See understood that without estab- retary of State Casaroli there was a discussion on the status of lishing normal diplomatic relations with Israel it could not Jerusalem and the Palestinian question. be associated with the peace process, where perhaps the sta- In the “Notes,” a Vatican commentary to Nostra Aetate tus of Jerusalem could be discussed. As they themselves were published in 1985, there is reference for the first time to the engaged in a dialogue with Israel, the Arabs could not very State of Israel. In this statement issued on the 20t anniver- well reproach the Holy See establishing a bilateral permanent sary of Vatican II declaration, Christians are invited to under- commission with Israel in July 1992 to discuss outstanding stand the religious attachment of Jews to the State of Israel, questions and normalize relations. The status of Jerusalem, a but “the existence of the State of Israel and its political op- multisided question, was not discussed there. tions should be envisaged not in a perspective which is itself After the meeting between Prime Minister Yitzhak religious, but in their reference to the common principles of *Rabin and Chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House on international law.” September 13, 1993, the Holy See decided to sign a Funda- This was the way to overcome the theological obstacle to mental Agreement with Israel. It was signed by Msgr. Clau- the recognition of Israel. dio Maria Celli and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Yossi John Paul II was the first pope to visit a synagogue when *Beilin on December 30, 1993. Only after the Cairo Agreement on April 13, 1986, he went to Rome’s Great Synagogue. In his between Israel and the PLO, on May 4, 1994, did the Holy See speech he spoke of the Jews as “our elder brothers,” a char- agree to an exchange of ambassadors. It also signed an accord acterization that was changed in 2004 to “our dearest broth- in November 1997 on the juridical status of the Church and ers.” Catholic institutions in Israel, which grants the Church auton- In September 1987, when Jewish leaders were received in omy to handle its affairs while respecting Israeli laws. Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, sources close to the pope said In a detailed exposition in a Jerusalem lecture on Oc- that there was no longer any theological obstacle to full rela- tober 26, 1998, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for tions with Israel. This can be seen as an outgrowth of the line relations with states, presented the Holy See’s position on adopted in June 1985 denying that there was any temporal link Jerusalem. Tauran stated that the Holy See cannot accept any between the Jewish people and the State of Israel. While such distinction between the question of the Holy Places and the a view might serve to overcome theological obstacles, at the question of Jerusalem. The Holy See is present “to ensure that same time it denies the spiritual basis of Zionism and seeks to it does not become, as is the situation today, a case of manifest separate the Jews in the Diaspora from the State of Israel. international injustice. is illegally occupied. It On April 10, 1989, Renato Martino, permanent observer is wrong to claim that the Holy See is only interested in the re- at the UN, said: “For us the Holy Land is our homeland, our ligious aspect or aspects of the city and overlook the political country of origin; Jerusalem is the Church hometown. The and territorial aspect… Any unilateral solution or one brought Holy See is not only interested in preserving the archaeology, about by force is not and cannot be a solution at all… There artifacts and architecture of the historical Christian commu- must be equality of rights and treatment for those belonging nities, but also those communities themselves. The lack of to the communities of the three religions found in the city… diplomatic relations does not imply denial of the existence of the simple ‘extraterritoriality’ of the Holy Places would not the State of Israel. That such recognition exists is clear from suffice… The Holy See believes in the importance of extend- the constant contacts.” ing representation at the negotiating table.” On January 25, 1991, during the first Gulf War, the Holy On March 9, 1999, Msgr. Tauran described the main rea- See published a long document on the issue of diplomatic rela- sons of disagreement with Israel: “It must also be recognized tions with Israel. It stated that the lack of diplomatic relations that relations between the Holy See and the Jewish world – is certainly not due to theological reasons, but to juridical above all with the State of Israel – have hardly been helped ones. The three main juridical difficulties were the presence of by the failure to resolve the Palestinian problem, the lack of Israel in the occupied territories, Israel’s annexation of Jeru- respect for certain UN Security Council Resolutions and duly salem, and the situation of the Catholic Church in Israel and concluded international agreements, without forgetting the in the administered territories. annexation by force of a part of the City of Jerusalem.” On March 6, 1991, Pope John Paul II, closing the synod On April 27, 1999, Foreign Minister Ariel *Sharon was of bishops from the Middle East, said: “We have spoken of the received by Pope John Paul II. Sharon thanked the pope for Holy Land where two peoples, the and that of the his efforts in combating antisemitism and his relations with State of Israel, have been engaged in conflict for decades; the the Jews. “Israel will warmly welcome and ensure the security injustice of which the Palestinian people is a victim demands of the pilgrims who will come, including, first and foremost, engagement by all men.” the ‘First pilgrim,’ the Pope.” After the opening of the Madrid Peace Conference in In December 1999, another item of disagreement be- November 1991, Msgr. Michel Sabah, the Latin patriarch of tween the Holy See and Israel was the project of building a Jerusalem, emphasized that the Holy See had not been invited new mosque in Nazareth just in front of the Basilica of the to attend, saying: “The invitation we were waiting for did not Annunciation.

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The Catholic Church under the guidance of Msgr. Mi- In his speeches in Israel, the pope drew a parallel between chel Sabah, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, reacted strongly antisemitism and anti-Christianity several times. Upon his ar- to the government’s authorization to build the mosque. Msgr. rival in Tel Aviv he said: “Christians and Jews together must Sabah succeeded in closing down the Christian Holy Places make courageous efforts to remove all forms of prejudice. We in Jerusalem for two days in protest and managed to create must strive always and everywhere to present the true face of a united front with other Christian communities. Sabah also the Jews and Judaism as likewise of Christians and Christi- accused the Israeli government of fomenting tension between anity.” Two days later at Hechal Shlomo, before the two chief Christians and Moslems, an accusation promptly re-echoed by rabbis, he said: “We must work together to build a future in the Holy See’s spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls. Some years which there will be no more anti-Judaism among Christians later the Israeli government withdrew the authorization and nor anti-Christian sentiment among Jews.” At Yad Vashem the the mosque was not built. pope repeated: “No more anti-Jewish feeling among Christians The official visit of Pope John Paul II to the Holy Land or anti-Christian feeling among Jews.” in March 2000 was undoubtedly an historical event. John This convenient symmetry between Jews and Christians Paul II arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, where he was for- is not supported by history. mally received by President Ezer *Weizman and Prime Min- During his visit in Israel the pope sent a letter protest- ister Ehud *Barak on March 21, 2000. He visited the two chief ing the approval given by the Israeli authorities to the build- rabbis, Israel Meir *Lau and Eliahu *Bakshi-Doron, at Hechal ing of the Nazareth mosque. This was a rather rare and strong Shlomo in Jerusalem, and the president of the State in his of- act of censure. ficial residence in Jerusalem on March 23, 2000. On April 1, 2002, some 200 armed Palestinians entered The pope said to President Weizman: “Mr. President, one of the most important shrines and holy places in Chris- you are known as a man of peace and a peacemaker. We all tianity, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem – marking know how urgent is the need for peace and justice, not for the place where Jesus was born – and remained inside until Israel alone but for the entire region.” On the same occasion May 12, holding hostages. The Osservatore Romano wrote on the pope added: “It is my fervent hope that a genuine desire April 2, 2002: “Palestinian terrorism is only a pretext,” because for peace will inspire your every decision.” the true objective of Israel is “to profane with fire and iron the There were two other highlights to the pope’s visit to land of the Resurrected.” Msgr. Tauran, of the Secretariat of Israel: the encounter in Yad Vashem on March 23 with Ho- State, said that the Holy See’s position included “an unequiv- locaust survivors from his home town and the visit to the ocal condemnation of terrorism,” “disapproval of the condi- Western Wall. The Pope said at Yad Vashem: “Only a godless tions of injustice and humiliation imposed on the Palestinian ideology could plan and carry out the extermination of a people, as well as reprisals and retaliations, which only make whole people.” Thus all the responsibility fell upon a “godless the sense of frustration and hatred grow.” ideology,” unrelated to or even in opposition to the Church. Pope John Paul II in his Angelus message of August 11, Already in March 1998, the Holy See, in the document “We 2002, said: “From 1967 till today, unspeakable sufferings have Remember: a Reflection on the Shoah,” had stated: “The Shoah followed one upon another in a frightening manner: the suf- was the work of a thoroughly modern neo-pagan regime. Its fering of the Palestinians, driven out of their land and forced, antisemitism had its roots outside of Christianity.” in recent times, into a state of permanent siege, becoming as it In a crevice of the Western Wall, following the Jewish were the object of a collective punishment; the suffering of the custom, the pope inserted on March 26 a note which reads: Israeli population, who live in the daily terror of being targets “God of our fathers, / you chose Abraham and his descendants of anonymous assailants. To this we must add the violation / to bring your Name to the Nations: / we are deeply saddened of a fundamental right, that of freedom of worship. In effect, / by the behavior of those / who in the course of history / have because of a strict curfew, believers no longer have access to caused these children of yours to suffer, / and asking your for- their places of worship on the day of weekly prayer.” giveness / we wish to commit ourselves / to genuine brother- Archbishop Renato Martino, permanent observer to hood / with the people of the Covenant.” the United Nations, wrote on November 2, 2002: “The Holy This text is identical to that included in a ceremony of See renews its consistent call for internationally guaranteed forgiveness in Rome on March 12, 2000, but it lacks the provisions to ensure the freedom of religion and conscience preamble in which the Church asked forgiveness from the of its inhabitants, in order to safeguard the special charac- Jews. Without the preamble, the Jews are not expressly men- ter of the City and of the sites sacred to Jews, Christians and tioned. Muslims.” In his meeting with Yasser Arafat in Bethlehem, the pope On November 16, the pope said: “In this context I repeat offered him 14 sea shells representing the 14 stations of the my firm condemnation also of every terrorist action commit- Way of the Cross and explained that this was a way to sym- ted recently in the Holy Land. I must at the same time affirm bolize the Passion of the Palestinians. So again the pope made that, unfortunately, in those places the dynamism of peace the comparison between the suffering of the Palestinians and seems to have stopped. The building of a wall between the those endured by Jesus. Israeli people and the Palestinians is seen by many as a new

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 20 485 vatke, wilhelm obstacle on the road toward peaceful coexistence. In effect, the through his work became axiomatic in biblical studies for a Holy Land needs not walls but bridges! Without reconcilia- long time. Wellhausen himself admitted that he was indebted tion of the souls, there cannot be peace.” to Vatke for “the most and the best” of his own work. In autumn 2003, Msgr. Jean-Baptiste Gourion was named Bibliography: H. Benecke, W. Vatke in seinem Leben und auxiliary bishop of the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem for the seinen Schriften (1883); T.K. Cheyne, Founders of Old Testament Criti- pastoral care of the Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel. The cism (1893), 131–42; R.C. Dentan, Preface to Old Testament Theology Holy See named on May 15, 2004, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa (1950), 16–18, 27; H.J. Kraus, Geschichte der historisch-kritischen Er- as the new custos of the Holy Land. He had studied modern forschung des Allen Testaments (1956), 178–82; L. Perlitt, Vatke und Wellhausen (1965). Hebrew in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University and was gen- [Menahem Haran] eral assistant to Msgr. Gourion. Some observers saw in both appointments a sign of good will toward Israel. VATRA DORNEI, town in Suceava province, N. Roma- Minister for Foreign Affairs Silvan *Shalom was received nia. Vatra Dornei was a way station on the trade route be- by Pope John Paul II on December 11, 2003. tween Transylvania and Moldavia and was visited by Jew- In June 2004 Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop ish merchants in the 14t and 15t centuries. Intensive Jewish of Milan, was the first bishop ever to be received in the Knes- settlement, however, did not begin until the late 17t century, set and delivered a speech. when the city was still under Moldavian control. In 1774, un- Pope John Paul II died in 2005 and was replaced by Bene- der Austrian rule, census officials counted 45 Jews in the city. dict XVI, the German-born Joseph Ratzinger. The new pope There were 494 Jews (12.4 of the total population) in 1880; began his pontificate with a visit to the Roonstrasse Synagogue 1,921 (12.3) in 1910; and 1,737 (22.3) in 1930. In 1908 the in Cologne, the oldest in northern Europe, and spoke out there Austrian authorities expelled six Jews from the city, claiming against “new signs of antisemitism,” thus following the line of that they did not contribute to its agricultural development. his predecessor. In 2006 he visited Auschwitz. In the second half of the 19t century, Jewish hotel managers Bibliography: S.I. Minerbi, L’Italie et la Palestine, 1914–1920 helped to develop Vatra Dornei as a therapeutic and vacation (1970); idem, The Vatican and Zionism(1990); A. Kreutz, Vatican Pol- center. The Romanian annexation of Vatra Dornei in 1918 in- icy on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, The Struggle for the Holy Land augurated a difficult period for the Jews. Riots were incited, (1990); S. Ferrari, Vaticano e Israele dal secondo conflitto mondiale alla one Jew was killed and Jewish homes were burned. From 1930 Guerra del Golfo (1991); G. Rulli, Lo Stato d’Israele (1998); M. Mendes, Le Vatican et Israël (1990). the city became the regional center for antisemitic activities. [Sergio Itzhak Minerbi (2nd ed.)] When the Goga-*Cuza regime assumed power in 1938, the Jewish situation became critical. In its religious life, the Jew- °VATKE, WILHELM (1806–1882), German theologian and ish community was associated with that of Campulung, the biblical scholar. Vatke taught biblical studies at the Univer- previous capital of the region. In 1896 the Vatra Dornei com- sity of Berlin from 1830. His scholarly work was profoundly munity became independent. A large synagogue was built at affected by G.W.F. *Hegel, whom Vatke considered as a “philo- the start of the 20t century. Vishnitz (*Vizhnitsa) Ḥasidim sophical messiah.” He published only a few books and of these maintained a prayer house and had considerable influence the most important was the first,Die biblische Theologie wis- in the community. Zionist organizations were founded in the senschaftlich dargestellt (vol. 1, pt. 1 only, 1835), a critical de- city in 1900 and later organized a private elementary school scription of the biblical religion. This was the first attempt to associated with the government school. In 1941 the Jews of approach the Bible from the viewpoint of historical evolution the region were concentrated in a ghetto in Vatra Dornei, based on the philosophy of Hegel. Thus, he was the first to ar- and in October of that year they were deported to camps in gue that the priestly sections in the Pentateuch originated in *Transnistria. After 2,029 Jews were moved from the city, only the final phase of biblical history, i.e., the Babylonian exile. The 21 remained. About 1,500 Jews lived in the city in 1947, includ- scholar E. Reuss of Strasbourg reached a similar conclusion ing refugees from areas annexed to the Soviet Union. Subse- the previous year, but did not publish his theory until 1881 (in quent emigration to Israel and other countries depleted the his Die Geschichte der heiligen Schriften des Allen Testaments). Jewish population. Vatke’s book was also overlooked for about 30 years, and it was Bibliography: H. Gold (ed.), Geschichte der Juden in der not until the 1860s, with the publication of the works of K.H. Bukowina, 2 (1962), 82–84. *Graf and A. *Kuenen, that it was recognized. Vatke divided [Yehouda Marton] the history of biblical religion and cult into three main phases; the primitive phase, which is reflected in the books of Former VAUGHAN, FRANKIE (1928–1999), English entertainer. Prophets and the earliest layers of the Pentateuch; the phase of Born Frank Fruim Abelson in Liverpool, he trained as a com- moral consciousness, as expressed in the prophetic writings mercial artist before entering show business in 1952. He be- and in Deuteronomy; and the institutionalized-ritual phase, as came one of Britain’s most popular and successful entertain- reflected in the priestly sections of the Pentateuch. This con- ers and, as a singer and actor, appeared in cabaret, films (such ception became widely accepted toward the end of the 19t as These Dangerous Years, 1957), and television programs. century, and was especially developed by J. *Wellhausen, and Vaughan supported Jewish causes, and worked mainly for

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