Global Antisemitism "Does Not Always Seem To Receive The Attention It Deserves": Sydney's Cardinal Pell Stands Up To Be Counted

Last year Cardinal George Pell, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, found himself in hot water regarding remarks he made on Q&A regarding the Jewish People vis-à-vis the Egyptians, Babylonians – and, er, Germans.

Certainly, he readily apologised for the hurt caused, and claimed that he had been misunderstood:

'In his statement Cardinal Pell said that ''historically'' or ''culturally'' unequal might have been a better term than ''intellectually''....

 ''My esteem for the Jewish faith is a matter of public record, and the last thing I would want to do is give offence.''

[Australian Jewish News editor] Zeddy Lawrence said many people had contacted the paper, upset and offended.

''It doesn't seem he was thinking clearly, but many people also said he is a good friend to the community,'' Mr Lawrence said.'

This week, there was no mistaking Cardinal Pell's goodwill. Delivering the annual Lecture on Religious Freedom at the University of Notre Dame Australia School of Law, he declared inter alia:

“As the Second Vatican Council declared, the Catholic Church rejects every form of persecution.Mindful of the great patrimony we share with the Jewish people, we also condemn hatred, persecution and displays of antisemitism directed against  them at any time.

In the Middle East and Iran there are sometimes antisemitic statements from government leaders, including Holocaust denial and calling for the destruction of Israel. Antisemitism also continues to be a problem in some European countries, where there have been some isolated but nonetheless shocking antisemitic crimes, including murder.

This problem does not always seem to receive the attention it deserves. I am not sure whether this is simply a specific instance of a more general lack of interest  in religious freedom issues on the  part of politicians, opinion leaders and human rights groups, or an indication of something more worrying at the bottom of the garden of political and religious life.”

If only more men of the cloth would follow his example.

If only the media, notably the "Islamophobia"-fixated BBC, would give the plight of Jews in Eurabia half the attention it gives to the plight, real and supposed, of Muslims, and report candidly on the antisemitism that bedevils Islamic organisations at home and abroad instead of glossing over the facts (for instance, like this and this, to use two very recent examples in an endless procession of dishonest reporting).

When, for instance, has the BBC (so zealous in reporting incidents like this) ever told us fully and frankly about the vicious antisemitism that Jews face in Sweden?: