Catholic Bandita

In November, I wrote an article stating: For Catholics, Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. This was not well-received by some Catholic readers. For some reason, I am receiving angry emails about that article today. That reality, coupled with what is happening over at the conservative blog American Thinker, makes my unapologetically Jew-loving radar go up. (Yes, I love Jews. I love everyone. I’m a Christian, so loving everyone is part of my job description.) Since my radar is telling me that anti-Semitism is what the “cool kids” are doing these days, it’s time to revisit the topic and explain when anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, and why.

My friend Daniel Greenfield makes an excellent point about Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo, et al. Although his point has nothing to do with Zionism per se, it remains relevant to my point about Zionism and anti-Zionism.

“Attacking [Michael Bloomberg's] policies by conflating them with Orthodox Judaism is just as offensive as criticizing Cuomo or Pelosi’s legislative activities in terms of Catholic doctrine.”

Anyone who understands that the views of Pelosi and Cuomo should not be interpreted as being “Catholicism,” should also understand that the existence of anti-Zionist Jews does not mean that Zionism is not a Jewish belief. Zionism is absolutely a Jewish belief, even if all Jews do not ascribe to it. Having said that, I will grant you that not all anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic. The existence of anti-Zionist Jews who are faithful, in the sense that their beliefs are of a Jewish nature and they appear to be sincere in them, does mean that not all anti-Zionism is inherently anti-Semitic. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism when it is offered as a theological belief. It is when it is offered as a political argument that it becomes anti-Semitic.

Perhaps the best way to explain this concept to Catholics is by using the calls for the excommunication of Nancy Pelosi as an example. These calls for her excommunication are clearly politically-driven. There are large numbers of people who identify as “Catholic” who agree with Nancy Pelosi on abortion, the issue that prompts calls for her excommunication. I know of no one who is calling for all of those people to be excommunicated. Rather, it is Nancy Pelosi’s excommunication they call for, because she is a high-profile political figure. It is not appropriate for our bishop to use excommunication as a political weapon. Rather, excommunication has a purpose that is devoid of politics. It is intended to be used as a means to call sinners to repentance, not to change our political landscape. If a bishop believes that excommunication is necessary to bring someone back into full communion with the Church, then by all means, he should employ his right to excommunicate the person in need of it, but it is ultimately his call, not ours, and it should never be done for political reasons. If you argue for excommunication of a politician so that you can obtain a political victory, you have become part of the problem, not part of the solution. Our duty is to call people to Christ, not to purge sinners from the Church. If we purge all the sinners from the Church, then there would be no members left.

In like manner, it is not appropriate to use the theological belief against Zionism among some Jews as a political weapon against Jews who are Zionists. Catholicism is, and should remain, neutral about Zionism precisely because Catholicism is tolerant, at worst, of Judaism. At best, Catholicism is decidedly accepting (not merely “tolerant”) of Judaism as we understand it is the very root of our own Faith. To lay the axe to Judaism is to lay the axe to the root of the tree from whence came the Catholic Faith. It is not for me to say whether anti-Zionist Jews or Zionist Jews are “true Jews.” Let them work that out with each other, theologically. When it comes to the political sphere, we would all do well to recognize that Zionism (1) is a mainstream Jewish belief; (2) is unlikely to go away anytime soon; and (3) is not a threat to anyone as a theological belief.

One might argue that Zionists use Zionism politically, therefore opponents should be free to make the argument against Zionism from a political perspective. Because Zionism deals with geo-political boundaries, there is no way to remove the politics completely from the argument. This is true, but it is also true that the political anti-Zionist clings just as strongly to geo-political boundaries as the Zionist does. The Zionist claims that God has given the land to the Jews. The anti-Zionist insists that it should be taken away. There is no theological argument in favor of revoking God’s promise to the Jews. Christian belief is that the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, not the revoking of the Old Testament. Catholics, especially, whose Masses more closely resemble Jewish tradition than protestant services do, should understand this concept of fulfillment, as opposed to revocation.

The Catholic Church (on an official level, if not communion-wide) has made great strides in our relations with the Jewish people. Personally, my friendship with Daniel Greenfield and other Jewish people who are involved in politics, has only strengthened my view that we have nothing to fear from Zionism and much to gain from being tolerant of Zionism. Zionism threatens no one. I am confident that any who look at Zionism objectively and with a sincere respect for the dignity of Jewish people, without being encumbered by political considerations, would come to the same conclusion that I have about it.

Let us pray for peace among all people, but especially among those who share in adoration of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.