A 93-year-old Holocaust survivor, Edith Bruck, has publicly criticized Pope Francis for suggesting investigations into whether the conflict in Gaza could be classified as a "genocide." Bruck, who once hosted Pope Francis in her Rome apartment and later co-authored a book that includes a foreword from the Pope, expressed her disapproval in a recent interview with Italian media.

"Genocide is something else," Bruck stated, indicating that the term should be reserved for the most horrific events, such as the Holocaust where millions, including a million children, were systematically exterminated. Bruck, who experienced the atrocities of Auschwitz, Dachau, and Bergen-Belsen firsthand and lost both her parents and an older brother in the camps, acknowledged the tragedy in Gaza but insisted it did not equate to genocide.

Bruck argued that the conflict in Gaza, while serious and tragic, does not involve an attempt by Israel to eliminate the entire Palestinian population. She pointed out that statements about genocide have come primarily from Hamas, which has called for the destruction of Jewish people globally.

Pope Francis’ remarks were published in extracts from his new book, "Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims Towards a Better World," intended for the jubilee year of 2025. In the book, Francis referred to opinions from some experts suggesting that the situation in Gaza might have the characteristics of a genocide and called for thorough investigations to determine if it meets the technical definitions set by jurists and international organizations.

Bruck expressed concern that using the term genocide too freely diminishes the severity of actual genocides, such as the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. She stressed that while the deaths in Gaza, particularly of women and children, are tragic, they do not constitute a genocide.

Additionally, Bruck urged the Pope to be more vocal against the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe, describing it as a "tsunami" of hatred. Bruck, who receives annual birthday calls from Pope Francis, mentioned that she would personally ask him to take more decisive action against anti-Semitism if he called her again.

Edith Bruck was born in Hungary near the Ukrainian border and was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 along with her family. After surviving the war, she moved to Israel and later settled in Italy, establishing herself as a writer and director and becoming an influential cultural figure as a Holocaust survivor.

Her relationship with Pope Francis began in 2001 when he visited her after reading an interview she gave to the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. Their relationship blossomed, leading to other meetings, including one at the Pope's residence on Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2021. Bruck recounted their encounter in her book "I Am Francis," where the Pope described her as a "living memory" whose testimony provides hope and faith amid humanity's darkest times.

Despite her close ties to Pope Francis, Bruck remains deeply troubled by the resurgence of anti-Semitism and voiced her distress: "I'm saddened, demoralized, disgusted, scandalized and indignant... Anti-Semitism, like fascism, is never dead. It's millennia old, and I believe it will never end."