Holy Land

The calls were only one manifestation of Francis’ concern for people in the Holy Land on both sides.

“If Kamala Harris wins, terrorist armies will wage an unceasing war to drive Jews out of the Holy Land. ... Israel will no longer exist.”

He said Zeitoun was inspired by family stories about his grandfather protecting Jews when riots erupted in 1929, when the Holy Land was under British colonial rule.

“Let us think of the beautiful witness of these two people who have suffered the war in the Holy Land in the loss of their daughters,” the pope said.

Before then, Israel was seen by Black leaders, many of them Christians, as an underdog in the Holy Land fighting for survival.