Rabbis: Jews shouldn't rent land in Israel to gentiles
40-50 rabbis from the National Religious and Charedi (ultra-Orthodox) streams have signed a letter calling upon Jews not to rent land in Israel to gentiles. If a Jew sells or rents property to a gentile, his neighbors must warn him, and if he does not change his ways, the neighbors must avoid the person, and may not conduct business with him, according to the petition. A person who rents or sells to non-Jews also may not get aliyahs in synagogue.Note: No death penalty.
In addition, one of the best-known National-Religious rabbis, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, signed the letter, as did Yosef's son, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef. Haredi leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Rabbi Avigdor Neventzal of Jerusalem's Old City also signed the letter.Across the spectrum. These rabbis certainly don't need my approval to express their opinion, but let me point out that there is a specific prohibition in the Torah against selling or renting land in Israel to non-Jews (Deuteronomy 7:2 and see Rashi's commentary there). Of course, that's not going to bother Israel's Leftists:
Another ten rabbis reportedly plan to sign the letter.
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) called on Tuesday for these to be fired.Many of them are actually not paid by the State and cannot be fired. But that's beside the point. In most places in Israel, Jews and Arabs do not live together. This is not America or even Europe, and neither side wants to live together. That doesn't mean that they're fomenting violence or hatred against each other. No rabbi is calling for murdering Arabs who buy in Jewish neighborhoods, and certainly not for murdering Jews who sell to Arabs. Unlike the 'Palestinian Authority,' Hamas or Jordan, all of whom have a death penalty for anyone who sells land to Jews.
"This is the worst kind of racism, which comes from rabbis who are paid by the state" Horowitz said on Tuesday. "All they do is encourage hatred and destroy Israeli democracy."
Labels: Deuteronomy 7:2, Rabbis' letter, renting or selling land to non-Jews in Israel
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:35 AM
4 Comments:
Yup. The very same Meretz leftists have no problem with Arab racism and apartheid.
Why the hypocrisy?
Torah law is clear. Peres and Netanyahu may rail against it but it cannot be changed. The Arabs are pagans who hate Jews and would slaughter them if they could. We have seen their behavior in the last week. No sane Jew wants Arabs to live among them. This has nothing to do with democracy but with G-d's command only Jews can own land in Israel. Period.
The moral relativism to which Peres and Netanyahu foolishly subscribe to is a doctrine that is not Jewish and is not found in the Torah. Not all peoples, cultures and faiths can be or are morally equivalent. This is apparent to the unschooled child but somehow escapes the notice of Israel's leaders. The Rabbis were quoting the Torah along with the ruling of the greatest of Jewish sages, Rashi. I think no one can dispute it.
If Israel's leadership had devoted as much effort to defending Jewish principles as it has to appeasing genocidal Arabs with Jewish land, land that is not theirs to give away, the disaster of the past week might not have happened. By showing contempt for G-d, they risk further punishment. Its time to change the hostility towards possessing all of the land for the Jewish people that has gripped Israel's leaders. Build it and go forth and multiply!
Its time to do a mitzvah!
NormanF:
Rambam held the muslims are monotheists and therefore not pagans.
Of course the ones who act like amalek must be treated as amalek.
One thing that bothers me is the Rabbis could also ask for Jews to apply dinei d'bar metzra - the right of neighbors. If a person is going to sell land then their neighbors get first right to buy it. They could set a fund to help the neighbors buy Jewish land. That would solve a lot of problems.
f0xpawz,
Most Israeli Jews would find it very difficult financially to take advantage of dina d'bar metzra, so that would be a very limited solution.
Dina d'bar metzra is also a positive rabbinic command which was instituted to make people behave in a neighborly fashion, whereas lo t'chaneim (the commandment to which both Norman F and I alluded) is a Torah prohibition.
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