Bergoglio has close ties to the Jewish community of Argentina , and attended Rosh Hashanah ( Jewish new year ) services in 2007 at a synagogue in Buenos Aires . He told the Jewish congregation during his visit that he went to the synagogue to examine his heart , " like a pilgrim , together with you , my elder brothers " . After the 1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish Community Center that killed 85 people , Bergoglio was the first public figure to sign a petition condemning the attack and calling for justice . Jewish community leaders around the world noted that his words and actions " showed solidarity with the Jewish community " in the aftermath of this attack
AMIA bombing
AMIA bombing
Pope Francis