The silent response of Israel to the death of Pope Francis indicates tensions on Gaza

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his condolences to Pope Francis, four days after his death.

An previous offer of condolences published on social networks by the official report of the State of Israel had already been deleted, causing considerable controversy in the country.

Israel also sends a relatively low level delegation to the funeral of the deceased pontiff on Saturday, with only the Vatican ambassador of the country.

All this was seen in Israel and elsewhere as a sign of the dissatisfaction of the Israeli government with regard to the passionate remarks of Pope Francis on the war in Gaza.

Thursday evening, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister published an offer of condolences of two sentences.

He said: “The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and to the Catholic community in the world in passing by Pope Francis. That he rests in peace.”

The tone of the original message tweeted by the @israel account verified on the day of the Pope’s death was significantly hotter.

He included a photo of Pope Francis on the Western wall of Jerusalem and concluded: “May his memory be a blessing.”

But it was quickly removed, without explanation.

Several Israeli media reported that it had been deleted, the Jerusalem Post citing officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that it had been published in “Error”.

The post of Jerusalem also quoted the former Israel ambassador to the Vatican, Raphael Schutz, describing the decision to delete the declaration published as an error.

Faced with such criticism, Israeli officials stressed that the country’s current ambassador to the Vatican had offered his condolences in person.

And it is the ambassador, Yaron Sideman, who will represent Israel at the funeral of Pope Francis.

This contrast marked with the heads of state or the government who will witness most major countries, including US President Donald Trump.

He is also very different from the funeral of the last pope to die when he was still in office – that of John Paul II in 2005. Israel sent the president of the time, Moshe Katsav, and the Minister of the time, Silvan Shalom, to attend the ceremony.

The current Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, published an eloquent and sincere tribute to Pope Francis in the hours that followed his death, describing him as a man of deep faith and limitless compassion.

But it does not seem to be planned for him to attend the funeral. No reason has been given, although it could have something to do with the funerals that take place on the Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath.

But it seems clear that the resentment of the Israeli government with regard to the expressions of solidarity of Pope Francis with the Palestinians, in particular during the war in Gaza, embittered his response to his death.

Last November, Pope Francis suggested that the international community should examine whether the military offensive of Israel in Gaza should be classified as a genocide – an allegation that Israel vehemently denied.

Earlier this year, he called the humanitarian situation in “shameful” Gaza.

In his latest public speech on Easter Sunday – the day before his death – he again mentioned Gaza. His address was talking about the suffering of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Since his death, more details have emerged in the way in which Pope Francis would be in contact almost daily with the small Christian community has been redone in a church in Gaza City during the war.

The Palestinians warmly spoke how his expressions of empathy gave them hope.

As a sign of the way they respected the Pope, the Palestinian authority sends Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa to the funeral.

All of this has meant that some in Israel, in particular among the coalition of religious and nationalist parties who strengthen Netanyahu’s coalition, believe that Pope Francis had taken the Palestinians’ part, despite his expressions of sympathy for Israelis and his efforts to strengthen multi-Faith dialogue.

This feeling of fracture between the current Israeli government and the Vatican may well be visible during the Pope’s funeral in Rome, where the leaders of Israel will be perceptible by their absence.