Islam And The West

The Moment magazine is an American Jewish publication. It covers areas related to Jewish culture, lifestyle, politics, and religion.

In the May/June edition of the magazine an article was run asking the question how should Jews treat their Arab neighbours?

The magazine published a number of different answers from rabbis  to the question but one in particular has caused a bit of a commotion.

Rabbi Manis Friedman is a biblical scholar, author, dean of the Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies and host of the television series Torah Forum with Manis Friedman.

The following is Rabbi Friedman’s response to the question how should Jews treat their Arab neighbours :

“I don’t believe in western morality, i.e. don’t kill civilians or children, don’t destroy holy sites, don’t fight during holiday seasons, don’t bomb cemeteries, don’t shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral.

The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle).

The first Israeli prime minister who declares that he will follow the Old Testament will finally bring peace to the Middle East. First, the Arabs will stop using children as shields. Second, they will stop taking hostages knowing that we will not be intimidated. Third, with their holy sites destroyed, they will stop believing that G-d is on their side. Result: no civilian casualties, no children in the line of fire, no false sense of righteousness, in fact, no war.

Zero tolerance for stone throwing, for rockets, for kidnapping will mean that the state has achieved sovereignty. Living by Torah values will make us a light unto the nations who suffer defeat because of a disastrous morality of human invention.” {Source: Moment}

Predictably there’s been a storm over Rabbi Friedman’s comments and predictably also he’s published a clarification on his website :

“…my answer, as written, is misleading…..

… how should we act in time of war, when our neighbors attack us, using their women, children and religious holy places as shields. I attempted to briefly address some of the ethical issues related to forcing the military to withhold fire from certain people and places, at the unbearable cost of widespread bloodshed (on both sides!) — when one’s own family and nation is mercilessly targeted from those very people and places.

Furthermore, some of the words I used in my brief comment were irresponsible, and I look forward to further clarifying them in a future issue.” {Source: It’s Good To Know}

Which all brings me to the fact that according to Rabbinical Law there is nothing wrong with what Rabbi Friedman is quoted as saying.

In this politically correct age he must of course publish a clarification but as the following links prove what the rabbi said is not peculiar to Rabbinical Law:

• Israeli Chief Rabbi Wants Muslims Pushed Into The Desert.
• Israeli Rabbi Calls For The Hanging Of Arab Children And Collective Punishment Of Palestinians.
• Former Chief Rabbi Of Israel Advocates The Killing Of Babies
• Former Israeli Chief Rabbi: Life Of One Yeshiva Boy Worth More Than 1,000 Arabs.
• Youtube Video: Rabbi Says There Are NO Innocent Civilians In Gaza.
• Israeli Rabbis Sanction Attacks On Arab Civilian Areas.

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Pope Benedict XVI is expected to visit Israel during May 2009. A part of his sojourn will involve the Pontiff visiting the Judaism’s most scared site – the Western Wall.

The complex in Jerusalem is overseen by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch and in statement to the Jerusalem Post, Rabinovitch will request that Pope Benedict attends the site sans cross:

“Ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s May visit to Israel, the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, has said that it is not proper to come to the site wearing a cross…

“My position is that it is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross,” said Rabinovitch in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post Monday. “I feel the same way about a Jew putting on a tallit and phylacteries and going into a church.”

Rabinovitch is responsible for religious decorum at the site.

“In coming days I intend to discuss the issue with the pope’s people,” Wadie Abunassar, media coordinator for the pope’s visit to the Holy Land, said in response to reports that the pontiff would not remove his cross. “I cannot imagine the Holy Father removing his cross.” (Source: Jerusalem Post)

For more on Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch see: How Israel Treats Her Christian Supporters

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El Al is the national airline of Israel. Since the start of the year negotiations have been ongoing between the airline and rabbis from the orthodox community in Israel to introduce “kosher flights”.

The community wants El Al to cater for them by having full separation between men and women, male flight attendants and no movies during flights.

Image source: Arpingstone

It seems that that the negotiations are taking longer than expected and now the rabbinic committee on transportation has asked the Israeli public not to fly with El Al:

“After failing to reach a deal with El Al that would see the company operating separate flights for the ultra-Orthodox sector, rabbis are now calling on their public not to fly with the Israeli company at all, and prefer foreign airlines instead….

…the rabbinic committee on transportation has published a statement urging the public to fly only with airlines that offer movie-free flights, or flights with designated areas that are movie-free.

They also included a list of the recommended airlines, and specified which of them also applies a modest dress code for its crew….

..Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf, who is taking part in the efforts to introduce “kosher flights,” told Ynet that negotiations with El Al were ongoing, and expressed hope that an agreement will be struck soon.

Although on El Al’s major flights every passenger can turn off his personal TV screen, and on some of the other flights the company operates a “movie-free” zone, the rabbis ordered their followers to refrain from flying wit the Israeli airline.

Goldnkopf explained that “contrary to El Al, these companies screen only movies showing water and scenery, and not dirty movies.” (Ynet News)

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The Jerusalem Rabbinic Court divorced a 14 year old girl and her 17 year old husband earlier this week.

The expedited divorce proceedings were held as the two even though married in a mock ceremony are considered husband and wife under religious law. The teens had consummated their relationship:

“A 17-year-old teen boy who gave his 14-year-old girlfriend a ring and pronounced, “You are consecrated to me through this ring in accordance with the religion of Moses and Israel” in the presence of two witnesses, was forced by the Jerusalem Regional Rabbinical Court to divorce her.

The couple’s “mock wedding” was proclaimed valid because the two had sexual intercourse and were therefore considered married by Jewish law.

After the young couple held their “wedding,” the boy’s family became concerned that if they were to break up in the future without obtaining a divorce first, they would not be able to get married again to other people.

They therefore implored their son and his girlfriend to separate legally, but the girl refused, saying she wanted to continue the relationship until she is 17, at which time they would be able to hold a formal wedding.

The boy’s relatives then offered her financial compensation, and she eventually agreed after receiving NIS 10,000 (roughly $2,500) from the parents.”

(Source: Ynet News)

The Haaratz adds that since her divorce has taken place she will never be allowed to marry to marry into the Judaism’s priestly cast of Cohanim:

“The court said the divorce would be reported to the Interior Ministry, which means that when the girl receives her identity card at age 16, it will state she is divorced. In terms of Jewish law, this means she cannot marry a Cohen, since it prohibits marriage between Cohens and divorced women.”

(Source: Haaretz)

See also: Israeli “Saviour Of The Universe” Has 89 Children From 32 Women, Lascivious Rabbi: I Am Biblical King, Judaism And Polygamy, and The “Rabbi”, His 7 Wives And 8 Children With 2 More On The Way .

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A meeting was held in Jerusalem on Monday night for prospective members of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The gathering was addressed by such religious luminaries as IDF Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Avichai Ronsky, Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi Dov Lior.

image by dAVIDb1

The Rabbis reminded the men that war was a religious commandment obligated upon them. Through their speeches they also enthused the prospective draftees with religious and nationalistic fervour:

“A small number of young men soon to be drafted into the IDF from Hesder yeshivot around the country gathered at the Jerusalem Theater on Monday evening to hear speakers from the national-religious camp espouse the virtues of fulfilling “the commandment of war.”

…IDF Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Avichai Ronsky told the youths it was a privilege to be able to take part “in the commandment of war and the preparations for fulfilling it.”

“Embrace this commandment with all your hearts. It is a right previous generations could not realize,” Ronsky said.

…Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau delivered a speech expressing hope that Israel would embark on preemptive wars rather than wait for “the enemy to come here… and see the whites of our eyes.”

…Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi Dov Lior delivered a fiery and overtly political speech, calling for Israeli sovereignty over the whole of the Land of Israel and criticizing what he described as weak-minded IDF strategies in the face of Israel’s enemies.

Citing the Torah, Lior noted that “200,000 Israelites and 10,000 Judahites fought Amalek. Why are the Judahites counted separately from the others? Because the Israelite army pitied Amalek. Today this is called being humanitarian.”

He added, “Only the tribe of Judah did not pity Amalek, and destroyed it… The sons of Torah are taught not to pity their enemies.”

Lior expressed hope that a growing number of IDF strategists coming from the national-religious camp would have an influence on future military campaigns.

“We need ethics from the Torah, not the Christian world, which teaches to turn the other cheek. This hypocrisy is against human nature,” Lior said.”

(Source: Jerusalem Post)

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