Jewish Community Relations Council Statement on Vatican Treaty with “State of Palestine”

May 14, 2015

The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation recognizes the great strides made between the Jewish and Catholic communities over the past few decades. Such progress was reflected most recently in our own community when earlier this month a delegation of South Florida rabbis and Catholic priests joined hands at an international convocation held in Israel to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps and the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council document Nostra Aetate, a meeting formally supported by the Vatican as a tool for fostering interfaith fraternity.

This very positive context makes the Vatican’s recognition of a “State of Palestine” through the treaty finalized yesterday between the Holy See and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas all the more disappointing and disheartening. While the Vatican has recognized a “State of Palestine” since the United Nations granted it non-member observer status in November 2012, yesterday’s action, which formalized its position validating unilateral steps toward statehood, serves to undermine the potential for a successful bi-lateral direct negotiation toward two states for two peoples. Ultimately, we fear that this well-intended, but ill-advised, decision will make the goal of peace – one we all share – even more elusive.

We look forward to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that will bring true and lasting peace to all peoples in the Middle East.