This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 001471 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/WE (LEVIN), EUR/RPM AND EUR/OHI (BRAUM) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2014 
TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI VT OSCE
SUBJECT: OSCE ANTI-SEMITISM CONFERENCE:  HOLY SEE WANTS 
RESULTS, BUT WON'T SUPPORT REFERENCE TO ISRAEL 
 
REF: A. STATE 78071 
 
     ¶B. VATICAN 1302 
 
Classified By: Charge d'affairs a.i. D. Brent Hardt: 
Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (c) Holy See Deputy Foreign Minister Monsignor Pietro 
Parolin told the DCM April 8 that the Holy See was committed 
to a successful OSCE Anti-Semitism Conference in Berlin, and 
agreed with the U.S. on the importance of achieving concrete 
results.  To this end, the Holy See will be sending a 
high-level delegation headed by Cardinal Walter Kasper, 
President of the Pontifical for Christian Unity, who is 
responsible for the Holy See's relations with Judaism.  While 
the Vatican supported efforts to better integrate 
anti-Semitism into the OSCE's work, Parolin expressed concern 
about the capacity of ODIHR to handle the increased workload 
involved in collecting and reporting member state data on 
anti-Semitism.  He also made clear that the Holy See would 
not support the inclusion of a direct reference to Israel in 
the Berlin declaration out of concern that such a statement 
would give Israel a shield to deflect criticism of its 
policies by describing legitimate criticism as reflections of 
anti-Semitism. 
 
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Committed to Success in Berlin 
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¶2. (c) DCM delivered reftel points, emphasizing the U.S. 
desire to ensure the Berlin OSCE Conference generates 
long-term political will to fight anti-Semitism and ensures 
the OSCE integrates the fight against anti-Semitism more 
effectively into its daily work.  Holy See Deputy 
FM-equivalent Monsignor Pietro Parolin affirmed that the Holy 
See was committed to the success of the Berlin Conference, 
and would be sending a high-level delegation led by Cardinal 
Walter Kasper, which would also include the Holy See's 
technical experts on the OSCE and anti-Semitism issues. 
Parolin said this delegation was an indication of the 
importance the Holy See attached to the conference, and its 
desire for Berlin to produce "something effective." 
 
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Concerned for ODIHR's Workload 
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¶3. (c) On the issue of collection of hate crime data, Parolin 
said the Holy See supported efforts to step up the collection 
and sharing of data to better identify and combat the 
phenomenon of anti-Semitism.  Its only concern, he stressed, 
was a practical one relating to the capacity of the Office of 
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to handle 
the potential workload involved in collecting reporting on 
these statistics for all OSCE member states.  In the absence 
of additional resources, he noted, this would be too heavy a 
burden that would negatively affect other aspects of ODIHR's 
work. 
 
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No Movement on Direct Reference to Israel 
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¶4. (c) Turning to the draft political declaration, DCM 
stressed the importance of a strong political statement that 
would give momentum to the OSCE's work on anti-Semitism. 
Noting that our Mission in Vienna had relayed Holy See 
concerns about inclusion of a direct reference to the fact 
that anti-Semitism is often manifested in attacks against 
Israel, DCM emphasized that such a statement was well in line 
with traditional Vatican views and should not be seen as 
breaking new ground.  Parolin agreed that it would be hard to 
imagine a Vatican statement on Israel that could be construed 
as anti-Semitic.  At the same time, he said he could imagine 
Israel seeking to use such a declaration to deflect 
legitimate criticism of its policies as anti-Semitic. (Note: 
Cardinal Kasper is also sensitive to this point, having 
emphasized in previous conversations the difference between 
criticism of Israeli policy and anti-Semitism (ref b).) 
Parolin noted that the Holy See was currently going through a 
difficult period in its relations with Israel, principally 
related to visa problems for religious workers in the 
Palestinian territories (septel).  In these circumstances, 
the Holy See was genuinely concerned that criticism it voiced 
pertaining to  bilateral problems could be interpreted as 
anti-Semitic. 
 
¶5. (c) Parolin said he understood that newer drafts 
 
 
circulating in Vienna were likely to drop this reference.  He 
understood that most EU countries were also opposed to 
including this reference in the declaration.  While he 
appreciated the U.S. point of view, and agreed that 
anti-Semitism could sometimes manifest itself in criticism of 
Israel, under current circumstance, he insisted, the Holy See 
could not support its inclusion in the declaration. 
 
HARDT 
 
 
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 2004VATICA01471 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL