Why did Israel express condolences over Pope Francis' death and then delete them?

A wave of condolences is continuing around the world following the recent death of the Catholic leader, Pope Francis. However, the fact that Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs deleted its condolence message about the Pope from social media has attracted the attention of media and the public.

In the now-deleted message, Israel’s MFA had attached a photo of the Pope praying at Jerusalem’s Western Wall and posted it on its official social accounts. But the message was soon removed. A spokesperson for the ministry explained:

“This tweet and posts were published by mistake. During the Pope’s lifetime, we responded appropriately to his remarks regarding Israel and the war in Gaza. We do not intend to do so now after his death,” the official said.

It is worth noting that during his lifetime, Pope Francis was a strong advocate for peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict and firmly condemned the war. He strongly criticized the Israeli army’s attacks on civilians in Gaza, especially strikes on schools, children, and unarmed Christians.

Since Israel began bombing Gaza on October 7, 2023, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to reports. Pope Francis condemned these events several times, which analysts believe led to the Israeli government’s cold attitude toward the Pope.

So far, among Israel’s top officials, only President Isaac Herzog has expressed condolences. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have remained silent.

Israel’s former ambassador to the Vatican, Raphael Schutz, criticized the government’s stance and called it a mistake:

“In my opinion, this is a very big mistake. Making political calculations after someone’s death is not appropriate for us. This is not just any head of state — we are talking about the spiritual leader of over a billion people,” he said.

As a reminder, Pope Francis passed away on April 21 at the age of 88. His funeral will take place on April 26.

The Israeli government has not made any further statements. This event is currently sparking intense debate in the international community. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!