'We do not understand each other': Faith leaders fall out over Israel-Gaza war

Rome’s Patriarch of Jerusalem on the quest for common ground so interfaith dialogue continues during the war

Cardinal Pizzaballa briefs MPs about the situation in Israel-Palestine during his UK visit. Photo: Catholic Church of England and Wales

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Religious leaders in Jerusalem have been unable to maintain open dialogue as a result of the Israel-Gaza war, Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch has said.

Leaders of Christian, Jewish and Muslim denominations in the capital could “barely understand each other”, in the fallout from the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, and with Israel’s continuing military campaign in Gaza, said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who leads the loyal-to-Rome Catholic church in the city.

“I used to meet the hierarchy of Muslim authorities, Jewish authorities, and so on. Now it’s difficult,” he said, speaking at a press briefing during his visit to London.

“After years of dialogue, we are at a point where we do not understand each other.”

We cannot replace Unrwa

Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Jewish communities have accused Christian faith leaders of not showing “enough empathy” with Israel about the attacks on October 7, while Muslim leaders were condemned for having “said nothing” and not attempting to “understand” the Israeli position.

Cardinal Pizzaballa admonished his counterparts for doing little to call for an end to the war, and asked critics of the church’s position to “at least respect our sorrow for the civilian victims”. Faith leaders were also wary of meeting publicly.

Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel when militants broke through the southern border on October 7, sparking an Israeli military campaign that has killed more than 44,300 people in Gaza, and a severe humanitarian situation that led tens of thousands more to die of malnutrition and disease.

The divided city of Jerusalem has been rocked by tensions and continuing violence spilling over from the war. Palestinian homes have been demolished in the occupied East by the Israeli authorities, and far-right Israeli mobs have acted with increasing impunity.

Cardinal Pizzaballa briefed MPs about the situation in Israel-Palestine during his UK visit.

He believed that interfaith dialogue was more likely to come from the grass roots level. Despite the hatred, there were a lot of “engaged” movements and organisations seeking to build bridges. He met many local religious leaders for the first time, to talk about peace building initiatives. “The situation created new desires to change, to do something,” he said.

Changed realities

A new reality has set in, and any future peace process needs a new approach that acknowledges the failures of earlier initiatives, Cardinal Pizzaballa added.

“We need new ideas, to create new ideas, a new path and new channels. We need to take into consideration that what has been done until now, didn’t work, it’s a fact. Otherwise we wouldn’t be in such a terrible situation,” he said.

“We cannot presume that we can go back to rebuild and to redo the same things before after this deep tragedy. It's necessary to turn the page and to write something new,” he said.

“It’s very difficult to talk about perspective in this situation, as long as the conflict is going on, but we have to be ready after, when the military conflict is over,” he said.

Scouts hold a sign in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza with Pierbattista Pizzaballa to Bethlehem. REUTERS/Mussa Issa Qawasma

Palestinians and Israelis were living alongside each other but with completely different understandings of the war. Palestinians viewed the conflict as an extension of the Nabka, their displacement in 1948. For Israelis, the reality that emerged after October 7 was “something new”.

“What is common, is the hatred, the mistrust,” he said, of both sides.

The Patriarchate was one of two bodies with humanitarian access channels to northern Gaza. The church was delivering about 100,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables every two weeks, which reached about 4,000 families, he said.

Jordan's King Abdullah II decorates Pierbattista Pizzaballa with an honour commemorating Jordan's 76th Independence Day. (Khalil MAZRAAWI/ AFP)

He recalled the complex negotiations with the Israeli authorities to obtain access to the strip. “It was complicated. We have to be stubborn sometimes and also tough, but also finding proper ways,” he said.

The aid, he added was a “drop in the ocean” compared to that supplied to Gaza by the UN’s aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, which will soon be prohibited in Israel. “We cannot replace UNRWA,” he said, adding that Patriarchate would only be able scale its aid up to reach 40,000 people.