Israel embassy holds Pope Francis exhibit at DLSU

THE Embassy of Israel in the Philippines, in partnership with De La Salle University (DLSU), is holding this October an exhibit of Pope Francis’ visit to Israel in 2014.

The exhibit is in commemoration of the 25th Year Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the State of Israel and the Holy See,

The visit of Pope Francis to Israel on May 25 to 26, 2014 marked an important milestone in the deepening relationship between the Catholic Church, Israel and the Jewish people. Pope Francis was the fourth Pope to visit the Holy Land.

The exhibit was unveiled in the Philippines by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle during his historic visit to the Synagogue in June this year, while the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open it.

Deputy Chief of Mission Yulia Rachinsky-Spivakov inaugurated the photo exhibit together with Kai Shan Fernandez, associate vice chancellor for academic services; Christine Abrigo, director of libraries; and Andylin Simeon, spiritual formation coordinator.

“The special relations of the State of Israel and the Holy See are based on both political and interreligious components. Pope Francis repeatedly said that a Catholic cannot be anti-Semitic, because we share the same roots,” Yulia said.

The report of the special rapporteur of the United Nations on freedom of religion or belief noted, “With serious concern that the frequency of anti-Semitic incidents appears to be increasing in several countries.”

“Antisemitism is toxic to democracy and mutual respect of citizens and threatens all societies in which it goes unchallenged,” the report said.

The photo exhibit will run for the whole month of October in relation to the celebration of the Holy Rosary Month for Roman Catholics. It is displayed in the sixth floor of Henry Sy Sr. Hall of DLSU.