Word: toaff
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Pope John Paul in a white robe and Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff in a prayer shawl, stood side by side in Rome's main synagogue for a moment of silent prayer. Then they joined in an enthusiastic embrace. The throng of 1,000 people packed into the ornate synagogue, 40 of whom were survivors of Nazi death camps, burst into thunderous applause. Some wept openly...
...church "deplores the hatred, persecutions and displays of anti- Semitism directed against the Jews at any time and by anyone." Then the Pope added, to ringing applause, "I repeat: by anyone." John Paul also expressed "abhorrence" at the "genocide" of millions by the Nazis and, as did Rabbi Toaff, paid tribute to the Catholics who at great risk helped Rome's Jews, among whom 11,000 of 13,000 survived the German occupation...
...their speeches to the Pope, both Giacomo Saban, lay president of Rome's Jewish community, and Rabbi Toaff called for the Vatican to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel, a divisive issue between the two faiths. "Spiritually and emotionally," said Saban, "Israel is central to the heart of every Jew." The Chief Rabbi took the issue a theological step further by stating that the return of the Jews to the homeland was part of "God's final plan of redemption." But John Paul in his 3,000-word address made no mention of Israel, and a Vatican spokesman later said that...
While Jewish leaders were upset at the omission, Israel's President Chaim Herzog termed the Pope's visit an important step toward "the correcting of the injustice which the church perpetrated on the Jewish people during 1,500 years." To Rabbi Toaff, the occasion was "a turning point in the history of the church," one that finally "puts the two religions on a level of equality...