The Orthodox Union this week apologized for and disavowed the views expressed in a booklet its Israeli office distributed to Israeli soldiers claiming the Vatican taught Hezbollah how to kill Jews.
In a statement, the OU said its senior staff never saw or approved the booklet, which it said contained statements “antithetical to the well-known views of the OU regarding respect for other faiths and their leaders.”
The statement was issued after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz ran a story about the booklet, published by the OU in cooperation with the chief rabbi of Safed. It claims to be an account by a Hezbollah officer who spied for Israel. The paper quoted one soldier as saying, “It’s filled with made-up details but is presented
as a true story.”
The booklet claims the Pope and cardinals in the Vatican helped to organize tours of Auschwitz for Hezbollah members to teach them how to kill Jews. Haaretz quoted an aide to the chief rabbi, Shmuel Eliahu, as saying the booklet’s claims are true.
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