Talks, not tanks, will bring us peace [View All]

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The chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger pictured whilst on a visit to Shield house, London

As Britain prepares to mark the seventh Holocaust Memorial Day this weekend, with dozens of events organised around the country on the theme of “Imagine ... remember, reflect, react”, Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Yona Metzger, has declared that the lesson of the Holocaust should be to prevent people from killing one another because they are of different religions. But he gave warning that this ideal will be difficult to achieve while there are extremist Muslims pursuing a goal of a global Islamic society. “We have a problem with some groups of Muslims,” he said. “The problem is not Christians as it was in the past.”

Rabbi Metzger, 54, who fought in Israel's 7th Armoured Tank Brigade and became the country's youngest Chief Rabbi when he was appointed in 2003, has visited Britain to honour the work of Young Magen David Adom, a UK fundraising arm of Magen David Adom, Israel's only medical emergency and blood bank service.

Rabbi Metzger, a charismatic and dynamic figure, has been at times a controversial Chief Rabbi. He and his supporters have complained that accusations of sexual harassment and exorbitant fees for weddings cannot be substantiated and are no more than smear campaigns organised by his enemies. Although his moral and ethical behaviour has been criticised in a report by Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz, criminal charges of bribery were dropped more than a year ago because of lack of evidence.

The rabbi made a point of personally thanking George Bush for his country's military intervention in Iraq on the President's recent visit to Israel. “I want to thank you for your support of Israel and in particular for waging a war against Iraq,” Rabbi Metzger said to Mr Bush, words which, according to The Jerusalem Post, warmed the President's heart.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3252453.ece