Hailing Israel-Vatican bond, Herzog sends condolence letter to pope on Benedict XVI’s death

President Isaac Herzog sends a condolence letter to Pope Francis on the death of his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Herzog says that Israel remembers Benedict for “his outreach to the global Jewish community and his dedication to sanctifying the warm bond between our peoples.”

The president calls Benedict’s 2009 visit to Israel “a powerful moment for the relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel.”

Herzog also recalls Benedict and then-president Shimon Peres planting an olive tree together at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. “This tree, this living symbol of peace and brotherhood between Christians and Jews, serves as a beautiful reminder that our two peoples share deep and inseparable roots.”

“The State of Israel and the Jewish people join our Catholic brothers and sisters as you come together to commemorate and remember this holy and pious man,” writes Herzog. “As we say in the Jewish tradition, may his memory be blessed.”