OSCE ANTI-SEMITISM CONFERENCE: HOLY SEE WANTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 001471 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR EUR/WE (LEVIN),EUR/RPM AND EUR/OHI (BRAUM) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2014 TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI VT OSCE SUBJECT: OSCE ANTI-SEMITISM CONFERENCE: HOLY SEE WANTS RESULTS, BUT WON'T SUPPORT REFERENCE TO ISRAEL REF: A. STATE 78071 ¶B. VATICAN 1302 Classified By: Charge d'affairs a.i. D. Brent Hardt: Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (c) Holy See Deputy Foreign Minister Monsignor Pietro Parolin told the DCM April 8 that the Holy See was committed to a successful OSCE Anti-Semitism Conference in Berlin, and agreed with the U.S. on the importance of achieving concrete results. To this end, the Holy See will be sending a high-level delegation headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical for Christian Unity, who is responsible for the Holy See's relations with Judaism. While the Vatican supported efforts to better integrate anti-Semitism into the OSCE's work, Parolin expressed concern about the capacity of ODIHR to handle the increased workload involved in collecting and reporting member state data on anti-Semitism. He also made clear that the Holy See would not support the inclusion of a direct reference to Israel in the Berlin declaration out of concern that such a statement would give Israel a shield to deflect criticism of its policies by describing legitimate criticism as reflections of anti-Semitism. -------------- Committed to Success in Berlin -------------- ¶2. (c) DCM delivered reftel points, emphasizing the U.S. desire to ensure the Berlin OSCE Conference generates long-term political will to fight anti-Semitism and ensures the OSCE integrates the fight against anti-Semitism more effectively into its daily work. Holy See Deputy FM-equivalent Monsignor Pietro Parolin affirmed that the Holy See was committed to the success of the Berlin Conference, and would be sending a high-level delegation led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, which would also include the Holy See's technical experts on the OSCE and anti-Semitism issues. Parolin said this delegation was an indication of the importance the Holy See attached to the conference, and its desire for Berlin to produce "something effective." -------------- Concerned for ODIHR's Workload -------------- ¶3. (c) On the issue of collection of hate crime data, Parolin said the Holy See supported efforts to step up the collection and sharing of data to better identify and combat the phenomenon of anti-Semitism. Its only concern, he stressed, was a practical one relating to the capacity of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to handle the potential workload involved in collecting reporting on these statistics for all OSCE member states. In the absence of additional resources, he noted, this would be too heavy a burden that would negatively affect other aspects of ODIHR's work. -------------- No Movement on Direct Reference to Israel -------------- ¶4. (c) Turning to the draft political declaration, DCM stressed the importance of a strong political statement that would give momentum to the OSCE's work on anti-Semitism. Noting that our Mission in Vienna had relayed Holy See concerns about inclusion of a direct reference to the fact that anti-Semitism is often manifested in attacks against Israel, DCM emphasized that such a statement was well in line with traditional Vatican views and should not be seen as breaking new ground. Parolin agreed that it would be hard to imagine a Vatican statement on Israel that could be construed as anti-Semitic. At the same time, he said he could imagine Israel seeking to use such a declaration to deflect legitimate criticism of its policies as anti-Semitic. (Note: Cardinal Kasper is also sensitive to this point, having emphasized in previous conversations the difference between criticism of Israeli policy and anti-Semitism (ref b).) Parolin noted that the Holy See was currently going through a difficult period in its relations with Israel, principally related to visa problems for religious workers in the Palestinian territories (septel). In these circumstances, the Holy See was genuinely concerned that criticism it voiced pertaining to bilateral problems could be interpreted as anti-Semitic. ¶5. (c) Parolin said he understood that newer drafts circulating in Vienna were likely to drop this reference. He understood that most EU countries were also opposed to including this reference in the declaration. While he appreciated the U.S. point of view, and agreed that anti-Semitism could sometimes manifest itself in criticism of Israel, under current circumstance, he insisted, the Holy See could not support its inclusion in the declaration. HARDT NNNN 2004VATICA01471 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL