TEL AVIV (AFP-EJP)--- The archbishop of Paris and head of the Roman Catholic Church in France, Andre Vingt-Trois, said Monday that French Jews feel they are enduring a "pandemic of anti-Semitism" on his first visit to Israel.

"The Jewish community feel they are living through a pandemic of anti-Semitism," he told AFP, clarifying comments made earlier at a news conference in Tel Aviv with Israeli Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog.

"It is a feeling felt by the Jewish community," he added.

Asked about he considered the state of anti-Semitism in France, the archbishop emphasised that "there are certainly points which need attention but France should not be turned into a battlefield."

Vingt-Trois, who is in close contact with Pope Benedict XVI and is considered highly influential in the French Roman Catholic community, talked about a "pandemic of anti-Semitism" in France during the news conference, saying he was "sensitive" to the feelings of French Jews who have suffered from anti-Semitism.

"They (Jews) know that in a serious situation, we are ready to be at their side," Vingt-Trois said, emphasising the "importance of relations between the Catholic church and Judaism".

In a two-hour conference at Tel Aviv University entitled 'Ethics and Security in the 21st Century', Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois declared:"Anti-Semitism cannot exist without roots well-grounded in the past. It has a base in our culture of the human race." "Anti-Semitism is very dangerous. There is always a struggle that we have to conduct with the Jew. It is much more than just about the State of Israel," he told a largely Catholic audience. “The Jew needs their place in the world and we have to conduct this struggle together side by side with the Jew in order that their historical experience, hundreds of years old, could allow us to prevent the cultural and physical murders of other nations."

The archbishop said he intended to convey a message of "hope" during his five-day visit to the Holy Land accompanied by 600 clerics.

In June, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert paid tribute to France’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism, after meeting leaders of the country’s 600,000-strong Jewish community.

French-Israeli relations have often been strained over the question of anti-Semitism -- France is home to the world’s third largest Jewish community as well as Europe’s largest Muslim population, at five million.

In comments made in 2004, Israel’s then prime minister Ariel Sharon urged French Jews to emigrate immediately to Israel, due to the threats he said they faced at home.

On his arrival Monday, Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois immediately stated that he had hopes for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"We are happy to be in the Holy Land. Jerusalem is the center of religions and it must unite all the religions in line with the vision of Jesus for unity, peace and tolerance," he said at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

The Catholic leader, who heads the Paris archdiocese, is a guest of the Israeli tourism ministry. He led a group of other French Catholic leaders who will join him in visiting Christian holy sites including Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Gallilee)and Nazareth in the north of the country.
The Archbishop was also due to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and sign a treaty committing the French Catholic community to cooperating on the study of the Holocaust and research into victims. He was also due to meet with Israel’s sephardi chief rabbi Shlomo Amar.

Historical

Israeli Tourism minister Isaac Herzog spoke of the significance of the Archbishop’s visit in terms of encouraging more Christians to travel to Israel and visit the holy sites in the country.

French Archbishop of Paris Andre Vingt-Trois (behind) prays next to an Orthodox Jew at the Western Wall in Jerusalem 14 February 2007. AFP Copyright 2007

“This is an historical visit, which might have significant effects on pilgrimage to the Holy Land,” Herzog said.

The visit is also significant as it marks a renewal in cooperation between the French Catholic Church and Israel.

Christian tourism to Israel has always been strong and last month a group from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem held a confence in London committing to traveling to Israel.

Vingt-Trois has been the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Paris since 2005 when he assumed the title from resigning Archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger.

He was a priest and auxiliary bishop before becoming the Archbishop of Tours in 1999. His values are closely aligned with the Vatican and he is considered to be an influential member of the French Catholic clergy.