“Hard expressions are not to be confused with a global judgement on the whole situation”: it was the answer by Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German bishops, to Avner Shalev, from the memorial of Yad Vashem, who had criticized the comments of some bishops about the situation of the Palestinians after the recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Lehmann explained that "in the Palestinian territories, some bishops perceived a high tension owing to the oppressive situation, above all, near the safety fences and the walls of Bethlehem". "This changed into some heavy expressions. Some of them were not adequate at all”, he admitted. However, they “must not be confused with a global judgement on the whole situation, based on an accurate examination of contexts, and of all the points of view". “Those who expressed themselves with hard tones about the situation in the independent territories, too, do not actually question the terrorism threat suffered by the Israeli people at all”, and they “unconditionally profess the right to existence and self-defence of the State of Israel”, confirmed the cardinal. According to Lehmann, “hurting the sentiments of the people surviving the Shoah, or of the Hebrew population in Israel, has never been the intention of anyone. The German bishops are aware of their particular historical responsibility”.
