Israel Matzav

Zany Zehava calls for investigating Rabbi Lior for stating Jewish law in time of war

Zany Zehava Gal-On of the Meretz Sheretz party has called on the Attorney General to 'investigate' Rabbi Dov Lior for 'incitement' for stating that Jewish law permits punishing and crushing the enemy, including the civilians among whom Hamas embeds itself.

Lior said that he had received questions about whether it is permitted according to Jewish law to harm a civilian population not directly involved with the combatants. 

“At a time of war it is permitted for the people who are attacked to punish the enemy population with measures such as blocking supplies or electricity and to shell the entire area according to the considerations of the minister of the army and not to needlessly endanger soldiers but rather to take crushing warning steps to exterminate the enemy,” Lior wrote.

Addressing the current hostilities with Hamas, the rabbi continued “In the case of Gaza, it would be permitted for the Minister of Defense to even order the destruction of all of Gaza so that the south will no longer suffer  and to prevent injury to our people who have been suffering for so long from the enemies surrounding us.”

Lior added that “talk of humanism and consideration are as nothing when weighed against saving our brothers in the south and across the country and the restoration of quiet to our land.”

You might recall that the IDF's previous chief rabbi, Avichai Ronsky, was forced out for a similar 'offense' to Lior's.

And perhaps this is the place to include a video that many people have sent me over the past week, and which I was holding because I thought it included music and we don't listen to music now - the three week mourning period over the destruction of the Temples. But this isn't music - it's only singing.

Moments before these Israeli soldiers enter Gaza and place their lives at risk for the sake of the Land of Israel, they prepare themselves by singing and dancing songs of faith in the G-d of Israel. They are singing: 1) "The whole world is a narrow bridge and the main thing is not to be afraid" - a famous rabbinical phrase 2) Serve G-d with joy and come before Him with song 3) "We Have No one Rely Upon Except Our Father In Heaven"

Let's go to the videotape.



I'm sure that the soldiers' reliance on God rubs Zany Zehava the wrong way.....

Labels: Anachnu Ma'mainim Bnei Ma'aminim, God, IDF, Ivdu et Hashem b'Simcha, Kol HaOlam Kulo, Rabbi Dov Lior, Torah, Zehava Gal-On

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:25 PM