Pope Benedict, on his first visit to Israel, said today that the suffering of six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust must never be denied or forgotten.

In a gesture addressing Jewish anger over his lifting of the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop in January, the pontiff went to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial to honour the dead and meet survivors of the concentration camps.

He spoke of the "horrific tragedy of the Shoah", the Hebrew term for the Holocaust, and called it an atrocity that had disgraced mankind and must never be repeated.

"May the names of these victims never perish. May their suffering never be denied, belittled or forgotten," he said.

The chairman of Yad Vashem council, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, expressed disappointment that the Pope was not more explicit.

"There certainly was no apology expressed here," he said. There was no "expression of empathy with the sorrow".

The Pope made a moving speech, Lau said, but "something was missing. There was no mention of the Germans or the Nazis who participated in the butchery, nor a word of regret."

Lau also criticised the German-born pontiff for not specifically saying six million Jews were murdered -- though Pope Benedict used the figure in his arrival speech.

"I will have the opportunity to honour the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Shoah," he said at Ben-Gurion airport, "and to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude."

In the 45 years since the Second Vatican Council repudiated the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Christ's death, relations between the Vatican and the Jewish state have been haunted by the church's actions during the Holocaust.

Ties plummeted to a low in January when Benedict lifted the excommunication of British Bishop Richard Williamson. In a conciliatory message later, he told Jewish leaders that "any denial or minimisation of this terrible crime is intolerable".

Williamson denied 6 million Jews were killed. The Vatican said it had not known enough about the British bishop's past and the church and Jewish religious leaders had hoped the issue could be closed with the visit to Yad Vashem.

HITLER YOUTH MEMBERSHIP

Israel's President Shimon Peres welcomed the Pope, saying he could contribute to peace in the Middle East.

"Spiritual leaders can pave the way for political leaders. They can clear the minefields that obstruct the road to peace," Peres said, as they met at his official residence.

"Ties of reconciliation and understanding are now being woven between the Holy See and the Jewish people," Peres added. "Our door is open to similar efforts with the Muslim world."

The papal visit was "an important spiritual mission of the highest order, a mission of peace", he said.

But there was little enthusiasm among Israelis. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria in 1927, Pope Benedict was a member of the Hitler Youth when enrolment was compulsory, although biographers say he was never a Nazi party member or a supporter of Hitler.

But Yad-Vashem director Avner Shalev-Yad said the pope should have spoken of his German background at the memorial.

"He stood here as a pope, but on the other hand he is a human being, and he had that experience, and I think the world expected he would have shared part of that awful experience in his address," he said.

Speaking on his arrival from Jordan, the Pope condemned anti-Semitism, which he said "continues to rear its ugly head" in the world, and called for a global effort to combat it.

He also called for a "just resolution" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognised borders".

The call highlighted political differences with Israel's new, right-leaning government. Since becoming prime minister six weeks ago, Benjamin Netanyahu has not endorsed creation of a Palestinian state, a U.S. and Arab priority.

Netanyahu puts Israel's security first.

Using a Hebrew word, the pope said security is something that "arises from trust and refers not just to the absence of threat but also to the sentiment of calmness and confidence".

His remarks will echo around the region, particularly when he visits a Palestinian refugee camp on Wednesday in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, where he will see the towering wall that Israel has erected in the name of security.