Low-level Israeli representation at Pope Francis’ funeral follows decline in relations
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mourners paying their respects to Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on April 23.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Follow topic:
VATICAN CITY – Most major nations will be sending heads of state or government, or royalty, to Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26, but Israel will be represented only by its ambassador to the Vatican.
The decision to keep the representation at about the lowest level possible is a sign of how far Israel’s relations with the Vatican have deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, diplomats said.
It also follows an Israeli government decision to delete a social media post
Shortly after the pontiff’s death was announced
The post was later deleted without explanation. The Jerusalem Post quoted officials at the Foreign Ministry as saying it had been published in “error”.
Israel sent a presidential delegation to the last funeral of a pope who died in office, that of Pope John Paul II in 2005. According to the Israeli embassy to the Vatican, it will be represented at Pope Francis’ funeral by Mr Yaron Sideman, who has been its ambassador since September 2024.
“It’s a low point in a spiral,” said one diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I hope both sides will be able to overcome the differences and climb out of this together.”
The Israeli embassy to the Vatican has limited its social media reaction to the Pope’s death by reposting a message of condolence to Christians in the Holy Land and around the world by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who described Pope Francis as “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads a far-right coalition of religious and nationalist parties, had not commented on the Pope’s death as at the afternoon of April 23.
War of words
Relations between the Vatican and Israel have deteriorated steadily since Hamas militants attacked Israel
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, Palestinian health authorities say, and most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced.
A month after the conflict started, a messy dispute broke out over whether Pope Francis had used the word “genocide” to describe events in Gaza. Palestinians who met him said he did. The Vatican said he did not.
The Pope met relatives of Israeli hostages on the same day.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not commented on the Pope’s death as of April 23.
PHOTO: AFP
After the start of the war, Israel’s then ambassador to the Vatican, Mr Raphael Schutz, lobbied the Vatican’s Secretariat of State repeatedly in late 2023 and throughout 2024, asking for the Pope to be more forceful in his condemnation of Hamas.
“There is a simple distinction, one side is murdering, raping, and does not care about those on their own side. The other side is engaged in a war of self-defence,” Mr Schutz said in 2023.
In 2024, after Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Israel’s response to the Hamas attack had been “disproportionate”, Israel’s embassy issued a statement calling his comments “deplorable”.
The embassy later toned down its criticism, citing a translation error, but relations remained tense.
In June 2024, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Foreign Minister, appeared to rebuke Mr Schutz at an event they both attended.
“The Holy See does not close its doors to anyone and strives to understand everyone’s motivations and perspectives,” Archbishop Gallagher said. “In this regard, it is very much appreciated when the positions of one’s own authorities are timely presented through the appropriate diplomatic forum and channels.”
Pope Francis, who visited the Holy Land in 2014, suggested in November 2024 that the global community should study
In January, the Pope called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “shameful”,
Rabbi Di Segni this week paid tribute to the Pope, visiting his body in the chapel of the Vatican residence where he died. He has also said he will attend the Pope’s funeral, even though it is taking place on the Jewish Sabbath. REUTERS
