"Jews May Kill Non-Jewish Babies" - Orthodox Rabbis
A blistering report by the Israel Religious Action Centre accuses state-funded Israeli rabbis of racism and criminal racial incitement.
The 40-page dossier, published last week during a conference at The Knesset (Israel Parliament), claims how some rabbis interpret Jewish law to argue that “Jews can kill non-Jewish babies because they may one day grow up to be enemies.”
IRAC and Anat Hoffman, its Executive Director often come to blows with the (ultra) Orthodox establishment but the impact of this particular report may have been weakened by the coincidental death of Rabbi Natan Tzvi Finkel, head of Jerusalem’s Mir Yeshiva (Talmudic Academy) on the day of publication.
During December 2010, Hoffman then warned that criminal action could be taken against allegedly racist Orthodox rabbis who forbade people to sell or rent properties to non-Jews. They could also face dismissal, she said. But it seems that almost 12 months on, nothing has changed.
Writing last week in The Pluralist, IRAC’s newsletter, she said:
“Racial incitement in the name of Judaism is a regular occurrence in Israel. IRAC works to change this reality. On the last day of the summer Knesset session, we presented a bill supported by 20 Knesset members to better define racial incitement and to regulate enforcement.
“ … This is the first report of its kind, compiling detailed cases of incitement by state funded rabbis. The 40-page report includes some material that is very difficult, such as the book Torat Hamelech which states that “Jews can kill non-Jewish babies because they may one day grow up to be enemies.”
“Incitement is a criminal offence in Israel. Unfortunately, there has been almost no enforcement in the case of rabbis. Forty-eight cases have been brought to court and in only one case was there a conviction. None of the rabbis featured in our report, most of whom are state funded, has had a disciplinary case opened against them.
“We created this report to remind the Israeli public of the harm that incitement can cause. We are also showing that the racist interpretations that some rabbis have espoused are an extremely fundamentalist approach to Halacha, Jewish law . The bible reminds us 36 times to treat strangers kindly because we were once strangers in Egypt. By bringing this report to the Knesset, we aim to raise awareness that these rabbis are being financed by the public and that there should be a limit to what they can or cannot do.
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