There’s a new Pope. And he’s not Jewlicious. In fact, he was in the Hitler Youth as a…youth. That’s pretty much the anti-Jewlicious.
Too bad there’s no “Popealicious” category on this site.
(And I can’t believe I’m the first person to post on this. Must be a slow day at the office for Esther.)
For more posts by Esther, see EstherK.com, MyUrbanKvetch.com and JDatersAnonymous.com.
Latest posts by Esther Kustanowitz (see all)
Ratzinger! Man. I did not see that coming at all. I am of courdse sad that my boy Lustiger didn’t make it but what the hey, I wasn’t ready for armageddon anyway. Plus I feel some Photoshop fun coming ….
The Hitler Youth thing is absolutely unfair. Ratzinger was required by law to join the Hitler Youth, and he was just 14 at the time. His biographers say he was not an enthusiastic member anyway. He was also drafted into the German army, but deserted a year later to the Allies.
There’s really no evidence at all that Ratzinger was a Nazi. So it’s wrong to portray him as one.
I’m sorry but after the Jewish Community was fawning over itself to talk about how kind PJP II was to us, then they go and elect ANYONE from Germany? The guy is almsot 80, you think he did anything to sopt the nazi’s?
Hey CK! Please email or IM me!!!! Thanks!
Interesting points, I will certainly look into this and perhaps write more about this angle. The fact he is from Germany certainly doesn’t thrill me in the least. Although he may not have joined
with any enthusiasm you don’t know what his real feelings toward the Jews are at this point and time will tell.
Josh, if you’d clicked to my other blog post and then to the NY Post article, you’d see that view represented, for sure. I didn’t mean to imply that he was currently a Nazi. Plus, my Urban Kvetch post also includes some recent, more complimentary information courtesy of the JTA.
There’s a pretty interesting editorial at J-Post backing him up about the Hitler Youth amoung other accusations.
you need an account…but most of you guys should have jpost accounts 🙂
Bryan: Read this from the New York Post:
Esther, I didn’t mean to be attacking you specifically or anything like that. It’s just very frustrating to me, because Benedict-16 might end up with a “Nazi” murmur that will undermine any good things he does during his papacy.
By the way, why is it objectionable in itself that he’s from Germany? Surely we don’t think that theologians should discriminate based on country of origin?
ck, you are suggesting that Ratzinger should have resisted? Surely that’s alot to ask of a 14 year old, and we’re going to hold it against him when he’s an old man?
Josh, no worries. I don’t feel attacked. I just wanted to make clear that I was trying to be more unbiased in the post, and it came across like I was chanting “Ratzinger’s a Nazi! Ratzinger’s a Nazi” on the playground.
If anything, I hope that this blip on his past from age 14 (a year beyond “gil mitzvot”–how many bar mitzvah boys do you know who take contrarian perspectives?) will spur him to do more good works and become a positive force in the world. I may be overoptimistic on this, but maybe that won’t undermine his legacy, but rather strengthen it.
Josh: I was just sayin its ironic, that’s all.
You shouldn’t pick on Esther. She’s been writing awesome posts while you’ve been AWOL.
I agree with Janice. Esther’s quite witty.
How many men agree that a woman who can make you laugh is a woman worth keeping? Raise your hands…
Ooops, wrong post.
let’s not forget that Ratzinger was one of the closest advisors to the late Pope and we can only expect him to carry on in his footsteps, which were by in large friendly to the Jews.