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
'The Haredim will thank Bennett one day'
There's a lot of acrimony in the Haredi handouts (the free newspapers) in the last couple of days about being in the opposition as the reality of that almost certainly happening sinks in. There's talk about exposing '
where all the money really goes,' comparing budgets in Haredi yeshivoth to those in the national religious yeshivoth, and calls for the Haredi parties and their followers to turn to the Left on security matters (which has prompted the Yesha Council to issue a statement that the Haredim should be in the government).
This is a very different viewpoint.
The article is in Hebrew on a Haredi website (yes, there are a few even in Israel), and it's written by Haredi journalist and Gerrer Hassid
Aharon Granot, who lives in Kiryat Arba (near Hebron in Judea). For those who don't read Hebrew, I'll translate the last couple of paragraphs.
I read what you wrote about your transfer to the Left and I laughed. By the way, why take revenge against the hated 'Mizrochnikim' [supporters of the National Religious Party. CiJ] regarding the mitzva [positive commandment. CiJ] to settle the land of Israel. I suggest that you take revenge by violating the Sabbath, it's much cooler. If only because of this or that anger at the srugim [those who wear knitted skullcaps. CiJ], which derives from lack of knowledge of the facts and superfluous hysteria you've decided to 'cut' to the Leftist camp, stay there, because the dirt of the Left will be pleasant to you. We will manage without you. By the way, you can be a member of the Meretz party, which will certainly guard the Torah world and will ensure that our friends will continue to devote their lives to Torah in the study halls. I heard the rabbi Zehava Galon, may she live a long life, saying this explicitly. If you're interested, I have enough Arab friends in the Balad party who will accept you with love. You are a talented journalist. The Occupation magazine is looking for reporters - believe me, I get it by mail. Have you, to prove your newfound Leftism, placed a picture of yourself in the demonstrations at Bil'in? Even without 'cutting' to the Left, I have thousands of these and not only in Bil'in but also in other places to which no Leftist has ever gone. [/sarc CiJ]
In conclusion, yesterday I was at the holy home of our master, the genius Rabbi Dov Leor. I heard something there that I only wish I could tell you. I can only tell you that you will yet kneel to ask forgiveness from Naftali Bennett, who kept his word and protected the Haredi world. And who will pay for this baseless hatred? Only God knows.
For those who can,
read the whole thing.
I don't know what is going on behind the scenes. I can tell you that one of these locals had an article last week that claimed that boys from Maarava and Yishuv (two high schools that do matriculation exams and whose graduates go on mostly to Haredi yeshivoth) are the first ones being drafted and I know of at least one instance where that is true (someone who has actually received a draft notice - not just a rumor). Are there more? Possibly. Does that contradict what Granot has written? Maybe. But at this point, all we can do is to wait and see.
Labels: Haredim, Jewish Home party, Knesset elections 2013, Naftali Bennett, Rabbi Dov Lior
Political correctness runs rampant again
On Monday, Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba was
arrested and taken for questioning. His alleged 'crime' was endorsing a book that deals with the Jewish law issues involved in killing enemy civilians during wartime. The book came to the politically incorrect conclusion that the killing of enemy civilians in wartime is sometimes permitted.
Leaving aside for a minute whether a rabbi's endorsement of a book means that he agrees with everything in it, or is anything more than an exercise of free speech through the expression of an opinion, David Rubin writes that the politically correct legal establishment is avoiding the fact that in times of war, the IDF sometimes has to and does
use lethal force against enemy 'civilians.'
Let us ask the seemingly forbidden question: Could it be that perhaps both the authors and the endorsers are correct in their analysis of the need for certain actions to defend freedom in wartime?
Is it possible that Israel is not the only nation with that particular need for self-preservation?
The authors were referring specifically to Israel’s defense, and therefore, they referred to “non-Jewish” civilians as a term for enemy civilians. Notable parallels can be drawn in major global conflicts for the cause of freedom, when civilians have been killed, and not accidentally.
There have been many instances throughout history in which righteous nations fought against tyranny and enemy civilians were killed in the process. The most glaring example was WWII, when the allied forces bombed the heavily populated German cities of Berlin and Dresden, knowing that many innocent civilians would be killed. Approximately 300,000 civilians were actually killed in these air raids.
Was this a crime? Was this perceived as a violation of German human rights? Certainly not! It was understood by the Allies that this was an effective tool in an overall strategy to defeat the enemy.
And I haven't even mentioned Hiroshima and Nagasaki!
In a time of war, it is certainly permissible. There was not even massive dropping of leaflets as in Gaza, warning the “innocent civilians” that the American, French, Russian, or British pilots would soon be attacking, and thereby ruining the element of surprise, so vital in wartime.
It was clearly understood that in wartime, enemy civilians would be hurt, and not necessariy accidentally, thereby preserving the lives of the valiant soldiers who were fighting on the right side of this most moral battle.
We Jews need to put an end to our self-immolation, as our enemies cynically hide behind civilians, no doubt amused by our unwarranted guilt. Enemies deserve to be defeated, and defeated handily.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: civilian casualties, freedom of speech, Rabbi Dov Lior
