Israel's absence at Pope Francis' funeral sparks diplomatic criticism

A large number of international leaders, including royalty, presidents and prime ministers, attended the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. 

However, in a sign of the high level of tension between the State of Israel and the Vatican, no high-level Israeli officials attended the ceremony. Instead, Yaron Sideman, Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican, was the only Israeli official in attendance. 

The late Pope Francis had been highly critical of Israel after the start of the Gaza War, following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. 

Ynet News interviewed former Israeli ambassador to the Vatican Raphael Schutz, who criticized the Israeli government’s handling of the situation. 

“When a leader of this magnitude passes away, you don't deviate from diplomatic protocols,” Schutz stated. 

The ambassador called attention to the attendance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who also had disagreements with the Pope over some comments from his previous term. 

“We should discuss our disagreements with the Vatican directly with the Vatican, not by boycotting the funeral,” Schutz stated, noting that Israel’s absence creates a negative impression among members of the global Catholic community. 

“A funeral that the whole world is attending, from Trump downwards, our absence creates a negative front for us with the entire Catholic Christian world – 1.3 billion people.” 

The Israeli government had previously drawn negative attention for the near-total silence from government representatives in sharing any message of condolences following Francis’ death last week. 

With the exception of President Isaac Herzog and a post from the Foreign Ministry, which was quickly deleted, not one Israeli official released a statement regarding the death of the Catholic Church head. 

President Herzog posted a message of condolence on 𝕏, writing, “I send my deepest condolences to the Christian world and especially the Christian communities in Israel – the Holy Land – on the loss of their great spiritual father, His Holiness Pope Francis.” 

Calling Francis “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion,” Herzog stated that the Pope “rightly saw great importance in fostering strong ties with the Jewish world and in advancing interfaith dialogue as a path toward greater understanding and mutual respect.” 

The Foreign Ministry also briefly tweeted, “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing." The post was accompanied by an image of Pope Francis visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem. 

However, the ministry later deleted the post without explanation. 

The Foreign Relations Forum, a group of former ambassadors and senior Foreign Ministry officials, criticized the decision not to send a high-level official to the ceremony. 

“The world is watching the farewell ceremony for Pope Francis. Dozens of kings, princes, and heads of state, many of whom are not Catholic, have arrived at the Vatican to pay their last respects to the head of the Catholic Church,” the forum said in a statement. 

“The absence of a senior representative of the State of Israel, the Jewish state, a proud member of the family of nations, especially during these days between Holocaust Remembrance Day and the revival of our independence, is a serious diplomatic error vis-à-vis the countries of the world in general and the Christian world in particular, and it is a badge of shame for the government of Israel and its head.” 

A diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters, “It's a low point in a spiral.” 

“I hope both sides will be able to overcome the differences and climb out of this together,” he said.