On Monday, EWTN shared that the Israeli government has been collaborating with the US-based lay organization, Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism (CCAA).
In its “Statement of Solidarity and Action, CCAA, founded in 2023, writes, “We affirm the right of the Jewish people to live safely and securely in their ancestral homeland, and recognize that modern Israel is essential to that security. These rights should not jeopardize the right of Palestinians to also live in safety and security.”
The statement also encourages Catholics around the world “to take steps to protect Jewish persons and property, and Jewish places of worship and community.”
The head of religious and interfaith affairs at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tammy Ben-Haim met with CCAA Director Simone Rizkallah this past May, and this month, Rizkallah coordinated a “weeklong trip for 13 American Catholic influencers (including EWTN News)” to Israel, in coordination with the Israeli government, “that addressed firsthand both concerns for the security of Israelis in the country’s Gaza and Lebanon border regions as well as honest discussions with Israeli Arab and Palestinian Catholics about the conditions and challenges they face,” according to the EWTN report.
Rizkallah is connected to the controversial Zionist megadonor Miriam Adelson, a dual citizen of Israel and the United States, who has been highly scrutinized for her role in funding political campaigns against figures like Congressman Massie.
Along with her duties at CCAA, Rizkallah also happens to serve as the Manager of Jewish-Christian Partnerships at Tikvah, a private foundation whose stated mission is “to educate exceptional young Jews and to bring the best Jewish and Zionist ideas to the world.”
According to financial filings, the Adelson Foundation gave $3,000,000 to Tikvah in 2024, which appears to be the largest donation to the private organization that calendar year.
The connection between Rizkallah and Adelson via the Adelson Foundation’s financial support is raising eyebrows among some Catholics who are concerned with both Adelson’s influence over American politics and now even Catholic organizations.
Earlier this year, Catholics for Catholics published a detailed article on “The Catholic View on Zionism and the 1948-State of Israel.”
“‘Zionism’ is a non-Catholic term that is both biblically charged, and notoriously ambiguous and abused,” the article states. “The fact of its being ‘biblically charged’ could not be avoided even by the secular founders of the 1948 State of Israel, who in their Declaration of Independence framed its founding as part of ‘the realization of the age-old dream—the redemption of Israel.’ Thus, while some may try to divest the term ‘Zionism’ of theological implications, it’s impossible to do so completely.”
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