Among the many condolences that were sent from all over the world after Pope Francis’ death, the almost absolute silence from Israel stood out, the Jerusalem Post said.

In addition to a statement by President Isaac Herzog, who expressed his condolences to the Catholic world and expressed hope that “His memory will inspire acts of kindness and hope for humanity”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar were left silent, as they did not comment or tweet about the death of the Pope.

Indeed, the Israeli government shared, and then deleted, a post on social media with condolences to the death of Pope Francis. Jerusalem Post cited Foreign Ministry officials that the Pope made “statements against Israel” and that posting on social media was published by “wrong”.

Israeli officials did not hide the reason for this silence – It is directly linked to the Pope’s statements about Israel and the war in Gaza.

Last year, Francis had stated that what was happening in Gaza “is not a war. It is cruelty, “and accused Israel of” bombing children and cuts them with machine guns. ” He also argued that “what is happening in Gaza has genocide characteristics.”

However, several Israeli officials criticized the decision to remain silent, arguing that the Pope was not just a political leader.

“I think the decision is wrong. We must not keep evils after one’s death ‘, Rafael Shutz, who served until last summer as an Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, told the Jerusalem Post.

He made it clear that Pope’s statements were worth a strong conviction and that Israel should have responded diplomatically at that time.