Who was Father Coughlin?

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In 1938, Father Charles E. Coughlin broadcast an anti-Semitic diatribe on American radio. Coughlin was a Roman Catholic priest from Michigan, and one of history’s first evangelists to preach via the mass media. At its peak in the early 1930s, his radio show had a listening audience estimated at one-third of the nation. Yet Coughlin’s broadcasts became increasingly anti-Semitic, expressing sympathy for Hitler and promoting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It was only a few weeks after Kristallnacht, when synagogues across Germany were burned, that Coughlin caused a scandal by broadcasting a diatribe in which he blamed the

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Today in Jewish History – Elul 12

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Sponsored by Aish.com: In 1263, King James I of Aragon ordered a Church-sponsored censorship of Hebrew writings. This was an unfortunate theme throughout the Middle Ages: Twenty years earlier, Pope Gregory IX initiated the burning of Hebrew books, and persuaded French King Louis IX to burn some 10,000 copies of the Talmud (24 wagon loads) in Paris. In 1592, Pope Clement VIII condemned the Talmud and other Hebrew writings as “obscene,” “blasphemous” and “abominable” — and ordered them all to be seized and burned. Despite attempts to burn our books, however, the light of Jewish tradition shines brightly till today.

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Good Friday Prayer for the Jews

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Received by email:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Pope Benedict XVI issued a motu proprio (decree) on July 7 authorizing wider use of the Latin Tridentine Mass, some Jews and Catholics feared that the decree would revive an ancient Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews that referred to the “blindness” of Jews, and asked God to “take the veil from their hearts.” Several Jewish organizations, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center, issued statements; the one by Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League was especially strong, calling the papal decision “a theological setback” and “a body blow to Catholic-Jewish relations.” However, this prayer

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Pope in private audience with head of anti-Semitic radio station

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Very disconcerting. From WJC: Pope Benedict XVI has received members of a Polish delegation that included Tadeusz Rydzyk, the owner of the controversial Polish radio station “Radio Maryja”. The Redemptionist priest has repeatedly come under fire for anti-Semitic broadcasts and a recent attack on Polish president Kacynski and his wife. According to a report in a Polish newspaper that is part of Rydzyk’s media group, the group of Polish pilgrims was received by the Pope at his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. The paper “Nasz Dziennik” reports that the Pope thanked the listeners of Radio Maryja for their prayers

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Archbishop of Paris visits Israel

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Via INN: Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris arrived in Israel on Monday as a guest of the Minister of Tourism Isaac Herzog. During his visit, the Archbishop is expected to sign a Holocaust remembrance treaty at Yad Vashem, meet with Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and visit Bethlehem.

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‘Jews never committed Ritual Murders’

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Via Jerusalem Post: Ariel Toaff, the author of Bloody Passovers: The Jews of Europe and Ritual Murders feels as if he had been excommunicated. A rabbinical press release was issued against the contents of his book even before anyone had read it, based on a review that appeared in the Corriere della Sera, which attributed Toaff – an Israeli historian of Italian origin who heads Bar Ilan University ‘s Medieval and Renaissance History Department – with attempting to prove the validity of some medieval “blood libels.” Toaff feels like he had been pushed into a corner. None of his old

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