Chabad House, a Jewish educational institute in Columbus, Ohio, advertised in its Spring catalog a May 17 lecture on anti-Semitism. The ad stated, WHEN IT COMES TO ANTI-SEMITES, IT’S SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO DISCERN A PATTERN. Shaped in the figure of the Star of David, the ad listed several prominent historical figures and groups as anti-Semites. Among those cited were The Mufti, Hamas and Khomeini. But also listed were Catholic Church figures such as Pope Gregory IX, Pope Paul IV, St. John Chrysostom and Justin Martyr.
In a letter to Rabbi Areyah of Chabad House, the Catholic League registered its objections as follows:
“As the historian Paul Johnson has written, Gregory IX targeted “heretics, antinomians and deviants. Nowhere does Johnson accuse him of targeting Jews (certainly not as a group to be singled out). In any event, Gregory IX lived in the early 13th century (Justin Martyr and St. John Chrysostom go back to the dawn of Church history).
“Two questions: a) identify your sources and b) explain how you expect relationships between Catholics and Jews to improve when irresponsible statements like this are made.”
No reply has yet been received. We will report on this case if we hear back.