Dangerous Judaism (Ha'aretz Op Ed)

[seventhson]

Haaretz - Israel News - Dangerous Judaism


(A Sensitive Subject raised by an Israeli which I believe, under all the current circumstances, merits discussion)


Dangerous Judaism

By Sefi Rachelevsky



Many people were shocked by the statement made two weeks ago by the rabbi of the Old City, Avigdor Nebenzahl - that "anyone who hands over parts of the Land of Israel to gentiles will be punished according to din rodef." This halakhic ruling, which justifies preemptive murder to defend a Jew whose life is in danger, is the same one that Yigal Amir relied on to justify the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in order to halt the political process with the Palestinians.




Rabbi Nebenzahl tried to calm things down by saying that din rodef is not applicable in practice in our time. However, that hardly holds water. In the eyes of someone who thinks that we are living in a period of messianic redemption, the constraints of the Diaspora, which take civil law into account, no longer apply. That is why many consider din rodef to very applicable and believe that is is possible, indeed necessary, to translate Rabbi Nebenzahl's ruling from the theoretical plane into the practical one.

Moreover, the execution of din rodef is mostly in the province of the individual rather than that of rabbinic rulings. The rulings provide the principle, but the individual is the one who conducts the execution in din rodef, not the court. Din rodef deals with a man chasing after another man and trying to kill him. Anyone who is capable thus has an obligation to intervene, without waiting for a specific ruling that goes beyond the declaration of principle. The pursuer must be stopped with a minimal amount of harm. As the halakha puts it: If the pursuer can be stopped by cutting off his hand, good. But if there is no choice and the only way to stop him is to kill him, then kill him. That is why it was so important for Rabin's assassin to explain that he had considered whether it would be enough to "merely" paralyze Rabin, but reached the conclusion that it would not be enough for the purpose.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/450585.html

[iamjoy]

1. There Are Fanatics In All Religions (n/t)

[seventhson]

2. Yup and they are even more dangerous when they run the government and set

policy -

like Sharon

and

MaBush

[Lithos]

3. Sharon

There was a discussion sometime back which cast doubt on Sharon's religiosity, or at least his sincerity. Like Bush, there seems to be some evidence that he wears the mantle of religion as a way to further his political agenda.

L-

[seventhson]

4. yeah they claim to be Jews and Christians and Muslims (the Bushzis)

But I believe the proper name for their religion is fascism (or satanic ritual killing for profit, power and climax)

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[iamjoy]

6. And Many Israelis Are More Secular

They're Jewish but not necessarily Orthodox. They want peace with the Palestinians, and to live side by side.

But, you've got a handful of religious extremists setting agenda for the entire country.

Sound familiar?