The first rabbi invited to address the Vatican’s annual synod of bishops criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran on Monday and indirectly touched on a main sticking point in Roman Catholic-Jewish relations: the church’s efforts on behalf of Jews during World War II. The chief rabbi of Haifa, Shear-Yashuv Cohen, above, described a speech last month at the United Nations by “a certain president of a state in the Middle East” as a series of “false and malicious accusations” and “anti-Semitic infamy.” In his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad denounced Israel and said Zionists controlled the world economy. Rabbi Cohen also said Jews “cannot forgive and forget” that some leaders may not have done enough to help save Jews during the Holocaust, apparently a reference to Pius XII, who was pope from 1939 to 1958.

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