Pope Benedict XVI is in the Middle East this week. He was supposed to talk about peace and reconciliation. SUPPOSED to…

The Nazi issue

But then, according to CNN, “the pope’s spokesman issued an unsolicited denial that Benedict XVI had ever been a member of the Hitler Youth, only to have to retract that denial within a couple of hours.”

The pope had, indeed, been involuntarily enrolled in Hitler Youth while growing up in Germany. When the issue first came up 10 years ago, the pope claimed he had never actively participated in the group and is anti-Nazi.

But just talking about his enrollment stirred up the public.

Then today, the pope refocused on the peace process, particularly surrounding unrest in the West Bank.

The West Bank issue

The West Bank is an area between Jerusalem and Jordan. Jordan controlled the region for about 2000 years. In 1967, Israel captured it and still maintains a military presence there. Here’s a map.

Palestinians have control of a small portion of the territory, ceded to them by Jordan. Either way, a majority of inhabitants in the West Bank are Palestinians. And many of them want an independent state — separate from Israeli control/occupation.

In 2002, Israel built a wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (city of Jesus’ birth, in the West Bank). Israel used it for protection against bombings and raids. Palestinians saw it as an illegal wall keeping them out of Jerusalem.

Today, the pope said that wall could be torn down – if Israelis and Palestinians would tear down the walls in their hearts. His speech seemed to throw a line to Palestinians who want to see the wall go. But it also seems to serve as a reminder that the wall can only be removed if peaceful negotiations supercede violence.

So what do you think? Is the pope for or against Israel? Palestine? Neither? Is he on the side of peace?

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends