Cardinal Sako denies Israel normalization claims
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako insisted he did not advocate “normalization with Israel,” adding that he is willing to face trial and execution if it would save Iraq.
Speaking during Sunday’s Mass, Sako described the recent wave of criticism as orchestrated by a political party with “known motives.” He also clarified that his comments were never intended to support political ties with Israel.
“The issue I referred to relates to a constitutional principle: normalizing relations with Iraq for Iraq’s benefit,'' Sako noted, pointing out that such efforts could create alternative sources of income alongside oil.
He dismissed claims circulating online that he visited Israel, calling them fabricated. The controversy emerged after Sako used the term “normalization” during the Christmas Eve Mass on December 24, which the Patriarch has repeatedly denied.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani responded promptly, asserting that “the word normalization does not exist in the Iraqi doctrine.” Muqtada Al-Sadr, leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), also indicated that anyone advocating normalization with Israel should face accountability.
In 2022, Iraq’s Council of Representatives passed a law criminalizing normalization with Israel, introduced by Al-Sadr’s bloc and its allies at the time. The legislation imposes penalties including life imprisonment or fixed jail terms and bars any diplomatic, political, military, economic, cultural, or other relations with Israel.
