Archbishop Gets Award for Arming Terrorists

Melkite Archbishop Hilarion Capucci ran guns for the PLO in the 1970s. He got caught and was sentenced to 12 years in jail. He was released after serving a few years of his sentence. The Vatican, embarrassed by the presence of an Archbishop in an Israeli jail, secured his early release by promising that the Archbishop would not engage in any anti-Israel activism once he was out of jail. Capucci violated the terms of his release on a number of occasions, most recently participating in the so-called humanitarian flotilla into the Gaza Strip.

At the time of his trial, Capucci said he was forced into smuggling weapons for the PLO. If that was the case, then Capucci should be ashamed of his past actions.

Apparently, he isn’t. He recently accepted an award the Star of Jerusalem Award from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The award was given to him for his efforts on behalf of the Palestinian people, which according to a Google translation of an article published by WAFA, included “secret work in support of the Palestinian revolution.”

Gun-running in other words.

The WAFA article caught the attention of Dr. Aaron Lerner at Independent Media Review and Analysis who provides some detail about Capucci’s actions. He begins by quoting a passage from Capuchi, a book written by Shlomo Harary and Roni Shaked and published by Yedioth Ahronoth:

“On 14 May, 1974 three Katyusha rockets smuggled into Israel by Archbishop Hilarion Capucci were deployed near United Nations headquarters in Jerusalem by Fatah terrorists. At 06:31 that morning a local Arab called the police to report that friends of his just saw something dangerous that looked liked cannons. At 06:48 a sapper was already at the site of the rockets. The sapper discovered that the rockets had a timer set to launch at 07:00. The sapper completed neutralizing the launching mechanism at 06:56. They were aimed at the Western Wall, a group of buildings in southern Jerusalem and the King David Hotel – where Henry Kissinger was visiting.”

Dr. Lerner then writes:

Archbishop Hilarion Capucci was convicted and then released on condition and with assurances from the Vatican that he would never engage in activities associated with the area. He broke his promise and the Vatican made no effort to honor its commitments. This action by Mahmoud Abbas at this time serves as a reminder to Israel that there is absolutely no respect for promises, assurances and guarantees.

For more information about Hilarion Capucci, the gun-running archbishop, read this article about his presence on board the Mavi Marmara in 2010.

Capucci is a convicted criminal, whose gun-running contributed to the death of a taxi driver in Jerusalem who was killed by the weapons he smuggled. He is a criminal who was given an award for his criminal actions by the Palestinian Authority.