Israel – Yad L’Achim, a haredi anti-missionary organization, called today on Pope Benedict XVI to help find thousands of European Jews who as young children were saved from the Holocaust by Catholic clergy and laymen and were never told of their Jewish origins.
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“During his visit here, we want the pope to call on all members of the Catholic Church to reveal the identities of thousands of Jews saved by the church from the Nazis,” said Rabbi Shalom Dov Lipshitz, who heads the organization. “We believe that hundreds, perhaps thousands of Jews and their offspring can be discovered if the Pope makes an unequivocal announcement while in Israel that every Catholic has an obligation to reveal the Jewish roots of those saved from the Holocaust.”
Lipshitz said that Yad L’Achim had a list of about 2,000 names of children believed to have been handed over to Catholic families, orphanages and other Church institutions to hide them from the Nazis.
A sample page from the list was sent to The Jerusalem Post. It includes the names, birthdates, places of birth and last known addresses of the individuals thought to be Jews.
All of the people on the list were from Holland, and all were born between 1920 and 1938.
Lipshitz said Yad L’Achim’s list, based on information collected after the war, also included Jews from France, Italy and Belgium.
Rabbi David Rosen, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Department for Interreligious Affairs, who is helping to coordinate the pope’s visit to Israel, said that Holocaust survivors with Jewish roots had the right to know about it, but doubted that the pope was the right person to petition.
“It is more appropriate to meet with the local archdioceses and attempt to track [them] down on a local level,” said Rosen. “It is a bit sensationalist to turn to the pope.”
Whoever these people are, many of them have children and grandchildren. What are they supposed to do at this point of their lives? Maybe a small percentage of their descendants might become interested in Yiddishkeit, but wouldn’t this take place through hashgocha protis and not by disrupting people’s lives in public?
I think it is awonderfull idea… let’s see if he’ll respond!
The previous pontif actually helped jews during the war.
On a seperate note.. who said we can halachicly relly on his testimony?
Does anyone have an answer to this?
But if we can save one neshama kol hakavod “Yad L’achim”!!!
The Pope exists for the purpose of encouraging Catholicism; do you really think he’s going to help un-convert those the church ensnared during WWII? It would be self-defeating.
I was on a trip to Poland and met a Jew who’s father was raised by a christain family and wasn’t told until the day his “mother” died. He had married a christain woman and has a family. One of the sons who I met became interested in his Jewish origins and converted in Yerushalaim to Judaism. He learned in yerushalaim for a few years, and is now back in Poland in medical school. He is a very devoted Shomer Torah Umitzvos.
Yad L’achim does amazing works rescuing Jewish Women and children from Arab Villages, anti- missionary work and kiruv and much much more. Instead of us all commenting on this piece of news ( good work ) why don’t we help them out??? I believe they have a website yadlachimusa.org donate! talk is cheap. BTW I was unaware That Yad L’achim did this work with the lost children they continue to amaze me
We know of a boy in Belgium who looked so jewish, he had the real yiddishe chayn/charm, even the non jewish belgians would ask him if he was jewish. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of his grandparents was a hidden child during the war and unfortunately doesn’t know he/she is jewish.
i heard around 75% of the citizens of spain and portugal have jewish ancestry.
Yoshke himself would fit the bill, “Born Jewish Raised Christian”.
This is part of kibbutz goluios, gathering the Yidden together, revealing their origins, becoming baalei teshuva, or their descendents becoming baalei teshuva. Even being buried as a Yid is important.
Even if they don’t come back we should know for shabbos goy purposes.
#3 since he is according to halacha a non jew , is no shape or form was he obligated to convert..so what did you proove?..but if the mother was jewish maybe you have a point
#15 excuse , what facts? his neshameh is not yiddish either..goes hand in hand
thats just makeing more j for j
the hidden Jewish children would be considered saved only of they would be returned as Jewsih after the WW2. Otherwise it happened with Jews the same as during the inquisition, whoever was baprized got life. It must considered as inhuman to hide their origin after they have escaped the danger. The Catholics saved the Jewish children for themselves…
People have a right to know their history and ancestry. They should have been told long ago. As an adoptee I support this initiative and hope the truth comes out for these people who are entitled to their Jewish heritage.