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Pope Pius XII revisited

By Lisa Hostein · September 17, 2008

The debate over what Pope Pius XII did or didn't do to save the Jews during the Nazi era continues to roil. The latest effort to cleanse the record of the pope who is on the path to sainthood came at a symposium in Rome this week where an American Jew led the charge. As reported by NCR Cafe, an online Catholic publication:

Organizers published a 200-page glossy book offering documentation of Pius' efforts to save Jews, including transcripts of eyewitnesses and previously secret material culled from diplomatic archives in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The case for the defense of Pius XII, as presented during the conference, is highly complex, but in essence it pivots on three claims:

• Charges that Pius XII was "silent" are false, because he spoke on numerous occasions in defense of Jews, in ways that were abundantly clear to everyone at the time and for decades afterwards; • If he did not directly and dramatically condemn Hitler or National Socialism, it was because he had well-founded fears that doing so might unleash greater persecution upon both Catholics and Jews; • Behind the scenes, he mobilized church resources in multiple ways to save Jews.

Jews, meanwhile, continue to challenge the Vatican to open up its archives before it moves to canonize Pius XII. For more on the debate, read this.

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Talansky’s tale

By Uriel Heilman · September 17, 2008

New York magazine's feature story on how Morris Talansky, a macher from the Five Towns of Long Island, brought down the prime minister of Israel, is called "Morris and Udi: A Story of Unrequited Love."

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Israel votes (well, some Israelis)

By Uriel Heilman · September 17, 2008

Israelis (actually, just Kadima members) went to the polls Wednesday to choose the man (or woman) who will be the next prime minister of Israel (or not, depending on whether the winner can put together a coalition government), finally ending the Ehud Olmert era (though not exactly, since Olmert will stay on as caretaker prime minister until someone can put together a coalition government).

In any case, on this big day for Israel (sort of), here's what the Israeli papers are saying (the ones that publish in English, that is):

• Aluf Benn in Ha'aretz: The question for the winner isn't so much how s/he will deal with the reality of Israeli politics and the challenges of coalition partners, but how the new prime minister will deal with international friends and foes.
• The Jerusalem Post editorialists: Can Kadima really provide a third-way alternative to Likud and Labor? It's a lot easier to explain where Kadima came from than what it stands for. Attila Somfalvi of Ynet adds: In order to survive, Kadima must prove that it truly wants to change Israeli politics.
• Guy Bechor in Ynet: The Arab world is fascinated by the Israeli people's ability to topple its leader, since that's impossible in the Arab world without a bloody revolution that leaves society in tatters.
• Gil Hoffman in the Jerusalem Post: What would Ariel Sharon think?

Results should be in the wee hours of Thursday morning Israel time (Wednesday evening in New York).

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