I don't understand why Jews are churning out articles in defense of Joseph Ratzinger, including one in the Jerusalem Post that seemed writen only for the purpose of rebutting a harsh description of the cardinal's background that had appeared the week before in the Sunday Times of London.

Look: I don't think Cardinal Panzer was a Nazi, and though many Germans chose to go to Dachau as conscientious objectors I can't fault the young Ratzinger for going to the seminary instead (following his brief, but compulsary, tour with the Hitler Youth.)

However I can -and do- fault him for the hateful theology he willingly articulated during his long career in the Church. From the Sunday Times article:

He upset many Jews with a statement in 1987 that Jewish history and scripture reach fulfilment only in Christ — a position denounced by critics as “theological anti-semitism”. He made more enemies among other religions in 2000, when he signed a document, Dominus Jesus, in which he argued: “Only in the Catholic church is there eternal salvation”.

And I can -and do- fault Jews for wasting ink in defense of this man.