Just in time for Pessach -- Good Yontiff to the new Pontiff

So in this case, he who entered the conclave a Pope came out... a Pope.
The Cardinals seem to have taken the easy and rather boring way out, going for a new Pope with all of the conservatism of the old one, but little (it seems) of the charisma. Still, watching the Anglican Church lose all moral authority in the UK after giving in to every whim of the secular liberals, I must say I admire the Catholics for standing their ground (although if I was a Christian, I'd probably be a Protestant...).

Cardinal Ratzinger on the Jews and Jesus:

• "... Israel still has a mission to accomplish today. We are in fact waiting for the moment when Israel, too, will say Yes to Christ, but we also know that while history still runs its course even this standing at the door fulfills a mission, one that is important for the world. In that way this people still has a special place in God's plans. ...
• "... But they are not simply done with and left out of God's plans; rather, they still stand within the faithful covenant of God.
• "... That does not mean that we have to force Christ upon them but that we should try to share in the patience of God. We also have to try to live our life together in Christ in such a way that it no longer stands in opposition to them or would be unacceptable to them but so that it facilitates their own approach to it. ...
• "... we know that they are assured of the faithfulness of God. They are not excluded from salvation, but they serve salvation in a particular way, and thereby they stand within the patience of God, in which we, too, place our trust. Cardinal Ratzinger, God and World(Igbatius Presspp. 149-51).
• "Catholics do not want to impose Christ on the Jews, but they are waiting for the moment when Israel also says yes to Christ"
• YNet on the new Pope's mixed record with Jews: here

Jewish reactions so far:

• "We are certain that he will continue on the path of reconciliation between Christians and Jews that John Paul II began," Paul Spiegel, head of Germany's main Jewish organization, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
• Rabbi Israel Singer, chairman of the World Jewish Congress, called Ratzinger, who took the name of Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, “the architect of the policy that John Paul II fulfilled with regard to relations with the Jews. He is the architect of the ideological policy to recognize, to have full relations with Israel.”
• British Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks said: "We welcome the new Pope and wish him every success in the daunting challenges that lie ahead. As a global leader in a global age, his voice will be important in framing some of the great challenges of the 21st century."
• Ha'aretz headline: President Katsav offers congratulations to new Pope Benedict XVI (Itim)