Pope Francis is refusing to play favorites on the second day of his visit to the Holy Land.  But the lasting image of this trip might be the unscheduled stop to pray at the ugly, graffiti-covered wall that separates Jews from Palestinians and Bethlehem from Jerusalem – abhorred by Palestinians as a manifestation of Israeli oppression.

The pontiff placed his hands on the wall at a point where Palestinians spray-painted slogans calling for their freedom.  It’s likely the act will endear him in the hearts of Palestinians, whose lives are played out in the shadow of that thing, which Israel claims is necessary to maintain security.

Earlier, Pope Francis paid homage to some 6 million Jews killed during World War II at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.  He said the Holocaust was “an enduring symbol of the depths to which human evil can sink”, adding, “I beg God that there will never be another such crime.”

On Monday, the Pope will celebrate Mass in the Cenacle, which is a room just outside the walls of the Old City where Christians believe Jesus held the Last Supper with his disciples.  Before the Pope got there, Israeli police arrested more than 20 people in a rowdy protest of Jewish nationalists who convinced themselves that the government was going to give the site to the Catholic Church.  Israel denied it.

As for the future, he invited Israel the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to join him in the Vatican early next month and pray for peace.  Both Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas accepted, although it’s unlikely it will lead to any diplomatic breakthroughs.