What to Make of the Vatican’s Recognition of a Palestinian State? https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2015/05/what-to-make-of-the-vaticans-recognition-of-a-palestinian-state/

May 14, 2015 | American Interest
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Yesterday, the Holy See signed a treaty granting official recognition to a putative Palestinian state ruled by Mahmoud Abbas. The American Interest comments:

[Recognition of Palestinian statehood] balances the Holy Father’s tough rhetoric against Islamists killing Christians with a step aimed at conciliating Muslim opinion. And the Pope also has to look after his flock: Palestinian Christians have long played an outsized role in Palestinian nationalism (as they have in other Arab nationalisms) as a way of winning acceptance in their community on a non-religious basis. . . . This gesture may, the Vatican feels, help protect a vulnerable part of the flock by bolstering the communal legitimacy of Palestinian Christians.

On the other hand, for all the tactical considerations, this marks a remarkable change in perceived moral superiority within a fairly short period of time—time during which Palestinian tactics have, if anything, become more brutal and flailing. Both the background of Pope Francis personally and the milieu of intellectual Europe in which many cardinals marinate now militate in favor of the Palestinian cause, whereas a generation ago the international left was broadly pro-Israel. This move, all told, though it will certainly annoy Israel, will likely not represent a huge change in the global status quo. It is, however, a sign of the times.

Read more on American Interest: http://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/05/13/vatican-recognizes-state-of-palestine/