The Coalition for Jewish Concerns describes itself as "an independent grassroots Jewish organization dedicated to raising a voice of conscience on behalf of endangered Jews" and declares that its "worldwide effort includes countering anti-Semitism, advocating for Israel, preserving Holocaust memory, and other pro-Jewish activism."

Sounds good. 

The Coalition was gravely concerned that Mel Gibson's masterpiece, "The Passion," would promote anti-Semitism. 

Although wrong, apparently well-intentioned.  

Ironically, it is the Coalition that is promoting anti-Semitism. 

Unintentionally, of course. 

But most unfortunately.

The Coalition recently announced that it will sue the Vatican in an attempt to force the Holy See to open its archives relating to Jewish children sheltered by the Catholic Church during World War II. 

Thereby calling attention to one of the least mentioned of the many causes of anti-Semitism: bad behavior by individual Jews.

To be sure, anti-Semitism is gravely sinful.

And ignorance and jealousy are among its causes.

But, humans err and sin.

And Jews are human and not immune from erring and sinning.

The Coalition's plainly disrespectful and dopey plan to sue the Vatican, a sovereign state with sovereign immunity, is at best a shameless publicity gimmick and pressure tactic.

The Vatican does not need such harassment.

Any more than it needed the approval of Jewish organizations to canonize Edith Stein, or needs such approval to beatify Pope Pius XII.

Meddling in Vatican affairs is counterproductive.

And asking a court to order the Pope to turn over Vatican documents is the kind of effrontery that Jews refer to a chutzpah.

The Coalition should choose better ways to raise funds and to win public attention.

Catholic League president William Donohue rightly responded to the Coalition's announcement not only by refuting the alleged need for such an invasion of the Vatican's records, but by condemning its "bullying tactics":

“In 1964, Dr. Leon Kubowitzky, an official of the World Jewish Congress, said, ‘I can state now that I hardly know of a single case where Catholic institutions refused to return Jewish children.’  He was referring to Jewish children who were hidden by individual Catholics and the Catholic Church—in monasteries and convents—from the Nazis during the Holocaust.  The courage that these Catholics demonstrated, often at great risk to themselves, should be cause for congratulations, not condemnation.  Sadly, this is not the case.  But why?

“On January 9, the New York Times published a news story maintaining that an Italian newspaper recently disclosed a Vatican document implicating the Holy See in a scheme not to return baptized Jewish children to their families after the war.  What has not received as much attention is what has been learned subsequently: this document was an unsigned summary, did not appear on Vatican stationery, was written in French, and bore the seal of a Catholic official working in France.  More important, another Italian newspaper has disclosed that the original document has now been obtained, and it proves just the opposite of what has been alleged!  To wit: Pope Pius XII, after being thanked by the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Isaac Herzog, for sheltering Jewish kids during the war, acceded to Herzog’s request to return the kids to their original families.  In other words, the first story was a hoax.

“But there is another issue here.  The bullying tactics of the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, led by Rabbi Avi Weiss, are a disgrace.  More reasonable is ADL national director Abraham Foxman: he has respectfully asked the Vatican to open all its archives on this subject.  I stand with Foxman on this issue and appreciate his decorum.”  

The Coalition needs to learn that the answer to anti-Semitism is not Vatican bashing.

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Email: GaynorMike@aol.com