25 dec 2016
Jonathan Cook/Days of Palestine
‘Israeli leaders expect the US to be religiously inclusive, but then they refuse to practise the same at home,’ Hanna Swaid told Al Jazeera.
As tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims converge on the Holy Land, this week, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, senior Israeli rabbis have announced a war on the Christmas tree.
In Jerusalem, the rabbinate has issued a letter warning dozens of hotels in the city that it is “forbidden” by Jewish religious law to erect a tree or stage new year’s parties.
Many hotel owners have taken the warning to heart, fearful that the rabbis may carry out previous threats to damage their businesses by denying them certificates declaring their premises to be “kosher.”
In the coastal city of Haifa, in northern Israel, the rabbi of Israel’s premier technology university has taken a similarly strict line.
Elad Dokow, the Technion’s rabbi, ordered that Jewish students boycott their students’ union, after it installed for the first time a modest Christmas tree.
He called the tree “idolatry,” warning that it was a “pagan” symbol that violated the kosher status of the building, including its food hall.
About a fifth of the Technion’s students belong to Israel’s large Palestinian minority.
While most of Israel’s Palestinian citizens are Muslim, there are some 130,000 Christians, most of them living in Galilee. More Palestinian Christians live under occupation in East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed in violation of international law.
“This is not about freedom of worship,” Dokow told the Technion’s students. “This is the world’s only Jewish state. And it has a role to be a ‘light unto the nations’ and not to uncritically embrace every idea.”
‘Pagan Symbol’
Rabea Mahajni, a 24-year-old electrical engineering student, said that placing the tree in the union was backed by Palestinian students but had strongly divided opinion among Jewish students and staff. The majority, he said, were against the decision.
“One professor upset [Palestinian] students by taking to Facebook to say that the tree made him uncomfortable, and that those who wanted it should either put one up in their own home or go to Europe,” he told Al Jazeera.
Mahajni added: “This is not really about a Christmas tree. It is about who the tree represents. It is a test of whether Jewish society is willing to accept an Arab minority and our symbols.”
He pointed out that Palestinian students had not objected to the students’ union also marking Hanukkah, referring to the Jewish winter “festival of lights” that this year coincides with Christmas.
For most of Israel’s history, the festive fir tree was rarely seen outside a handful of communities in Israel with significant Christian populations. But in recent years, the appeal of Christmas celebrations has spread among secular Israeli Jews.
Russians brought it to Israel
Interest took off two decades ago, after one million Russian-speaking Jews immigrated following the fall of the Soviet Union, said David Bogomolny, a spokesman for Hiddush, which lobbies for religious freedom in Israel.
Many, he told Al Jazeera, had little connection to Jewish religious practice in their countries of origin, and had adopted local customs instead.
“The tree [in the former Soviet Union] was very popular but it had nothing to do with Christmas,” he said. “Each home had one as a way to welcome in the new year.”
Nazareth, which claims to host the tallest Christmas tree in the Middle East, has recently become a magnet for many domestic tourists, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. They come to visit the Christmas market, hear carols and buy a Santa hat.
Haifa and Jaffa, which became almost Jewish cities with significant Palestinian Christian populations after the occupation of Palestine in 1948, have recently started competing. Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv, staged its first Christmas market last year.
Meanwhile, hotels are keen to erect a tree in their lobbies as a way to boost tourism revenue from Christian pilgrims, who comprise the bulk of overseas visitors.
Upsetting Rabbis
But the growing popularity of Christmas has upset many Orthodox rabbis, who have significant powers over public space. Bogomolny said that some rabbis were driven by a desire to make the state “as Jewish as possible” to avert it losing its identity.
Others may fear that the proliferation of Christmas trees could lure Israeli Jews towards Christianity.
Wadie Abu Nassar, a spokesman for the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, said that he had noticed an increasing interest from Israeli Jews in Christian festivals, including in some cases requests to attend Christmas mass.
He told Al Jazeera this was not a threat to Judaism, but healthy curiosity. “If we want to live together in peace, we have to understand each other and learn to trust,” he said.
The controversial status of Christmas in Israel was underscored four years ago, when Yair Netanyahu, the 21-year-old son of Israel’s prime minister, caused a minor scandal by being photographed wearing a Santa hat next to a Christmas tree.
The office of Benjamin Netanyahu hurriedly issued a statement saying that Yair had posed as a joke while attending a party hosted by “Christian Zionists, who love Israel, and whose children served in the [Israeli army].”
Christmas tree harms Jews
Two years earlier, Shimon Gapso, the mayor of Upper Nazareth, originally founded for Jews on Nazareth’s land, banned all signs of Christmas in the city’s public places. He has been a vociferous opponent of an influx of Christians from overcrowded Nazareth.
The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has also been declared a Christmas tree-free zone.
In 2013, its speaker rejected a request from Hanna Swaid, then a Palestinian Christian legislator, to erect a tree in the building. Yuli Edelstein said it would evoke “painful memories” of Jewish persecution in Europe and chip away at the state’s Jewish character.
Swaid pointed to the prominence of Jewish symbols in public spaces in the United States, including an annual Hanukkah party at the White House, during which the president lights menorah candles.
“Israeli leaders expect the US to be religiously inclusive, but then they refuse to practise the same at home,” he told Al Jazeera.
He also noted that the religious freedoms of the Palestinian minority were under ever greater attack, most notably with the recent drafting of a so-called “muezzin bill,” which would crack down on mosques’ use of loudspeakers for the call to prayer.
“Given this hostile political climate, the battle to gain legitimacy for our religious symbols becomes all the more important,” he said. “Otherwise, we face a dark future.”
Nonetheless, there has been a backlash, especially from secular Jews, against the rigid control exercised by Orthodox rabbis.
Haifa’s mayor, Yona Yahav, overruled the city’s rabbi in 2012 when he tried to ban Christmas trees and new year’s parties. The Jewish new year occurs several months before the Christian one.
And, last year, in the face of a legal challenge from Hiddush, the chief rabbinate backed down on threats to revoke the kosher certificates of businesses that celebrate Christmas.
But while the ban on Christmas trees has been formally lifted, in practice it is still widely enforced, according to Bogomolny.
“The problem is that the chief rabbinate actually has no authority over city rabbis, who can disregard its rulings, as we have seen with the letter issued by the Jerusalem rabbis,” he said.
Most hotels wanted to ignore the prohibition on Christmas trees because it was bad for business, but feared being punished.
“It is a problem throughout the country,” he said. “The hotels are afraid to take a stand. If they try to fight it through the courts, it will be costly and could take years to get a ruling.”
One hotel manager in West Jerusalem to whom Al Jazeera spoke on condition of anonymity said he feared “retaliation” from the rabbis.
“The letter was clearly intended to intimidate us,” he said. “The Christian tourists are here to celebrate Christmas and we want to help them do it, but not if it costs us our certificate.”
‘Israeli leaders expect the US to be religiously inclusive, but then they refuse to practise the same at home,’ Hanna Swaid told Al Jazeera.
As tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims converge on the Holy Land, this week, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, senior Israeli rabbis have announced a war on the Christmas tree.
In Jerusalem, the rabbinate has issued a letter warning dozens of hotels in the city that it is “forbidden” by Jewish religious law to erect a tree or stage new year’s parties.
Many hotel owners have taken the warning to heart, fearful that the rabbis may carry out previous threats to damage their businesses by denying them certificates declaring their premises to be “kosher.”
In the coastal city of Haifa, in northern Israel, the rabbi of Israel’s premier technology university has taken a similarly strict line.
Elad Dokow, the Technion’s rabbi, ordered that Jewish students boycott their students’ union, after it installed for the first time a modest Christmas tree.
He called the tree “idolatry,” warning that it was a “pagan” symbol that violated the kosher status of the building, including its food hall.
About a fifth of the Technion’s students belong to Israel’s large Palestinian minority.
While most of Israel’s Palestinian citizens are Muslim, there are some 130,000 Christians, most of them living in Galilee. More Palestinian Christians live under occupation in East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed in violation of international law.
“This is not about freedom of worship,” Dokow told the Technion’s students. “This is the world’s only Jewish state. And it has a role to be a ‘light unto the nations’ and not to uncritically embrace every idea.”
‘Pagan Symbol’
Rabea Mahajni, a 24-year-old electrical engineering student, said that placing the tree in the union was backed by Palestinian students but had strongly divided opinion among Jewish students and staff. The majority, he said, were against the decision.
“One professor upset [Palestinian] students by taking to Facebook to say that the tree made him uncomfortable, and that those who wanted it should either put one up in their own home or go to Europe,” he told Al Jazeera.
Mahajni added: “This is not really about a Christmas tree. It is about who the tree represents. It is a test of whether Jewish society is willing to accept an Arab minority and our symbols.”
He pointed out that Palestinian students had not objected to the students’ union also marking Hanukkah, referring to the Jewish winter “festival of lights” that this year coincides with Christmas.
For most of Israel’s history, the festive fir tree was rarely seen outside a handful of communities in Israel with significant Christian populations. But in recent years, the appeal of Christmas celebrations has spread among secular Israeli Jews.
Russians brought it to Israel
Interest took off two decades ago, after one million Russian-speaking Jews immigrated following the fall of the Soviet Union, said David Bogomolny, a spokesman for Hiddush, which lobbies for religious freedom in Israel.
Many, he told Al Jazeera, had little connection to Jewish religious practice in their countries of origin, and had adopted local customs instead.
“The tree [in the former Soviet Union] was very popular but it had nothing to do with Christmas,” he said. “Each home had one as a way to welcome in the new year.”
Nazareth, which claims to host the tallest Christmas tree in the Middle East, has recently become a magnet for many domestic tourists, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. They come to visit the Christmas market, hear carols and buy a Santa hat.
Haifa and Jaffa, which became almost Jewish cities with significant Palestinian Christian populations after the occupation of Palestine in 1948, have recently started competing. Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv, staged its first Christmas market last year.
Meanwhile, hotels are keen to erect a tree in their lobbies as a way to boost tourism revenue from Christian pilgrims, who comprise the bulk of overseas visitors.
Upsetting Rabbis
But the growing popularity of Christmas has upset many Orthodox rabbis, who have significant powers over public space. Bogomolny said that some rabbis were driven by a desire to make the state “as Jewish as possible” to avert it losing its identity.
Others may fear that the proliferation of Christmas trees could lure Israeli Jews towards Christianity.
Wadie Abu Nassar, a spokesman for the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, said that he had noticed an increasing interest from Israeli Jews in Christian festivals, including in some cases requests to attend Christmas mass.
He told Al Jazeera this was not a threat to Judaism, but healthy curiosity. “If we want to live together in peace, we have to understand each other and learn to trust,” he said.
The controversial status of Christmas in Israel was underscored four years ago, when Yair Netanyahu, the 21-year-old son of Israel’s prime minister, caused a minor scandal by being photographed wearing a Santa hat next to a Christmas tree.
The office of Benjamin Netanyahu hurriedly issued a statement saying that Yair had posed as a joke while attending a party hosted by “Christian Zionists, who love Israel, and whose children served in the [Israeli army].”
Christmas tree harms Jews
Two years earlier, Shimon Gapso, the mayor of Upper Nazareth, originally founded for Jews on Nazareth’s land, banned all signs of Christmas in the city’s public places. He has been a vociferous opponent of an influx of Christians from overcrowded Nazareth.
The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has also been declared a Christmas tree-free zone.
In 2013, its speaker rejected a request from Hanna Swaid, then a Palestinian Christian legislator, to erect a tree in the building. Yuli Edelstein said it would evoke “painful memories” of Jewish persecution in Europe and chip away at the state’s Jewish character.
Swaid pointed to the prominence of Jewish symbols in public spaces in the United States, including an annual Hanukkah party at the White House, during which the president lights menorah candles.
“Israeli leaders expect the US to be religiously inclusive, but then they refuse to practise the same at home,” he told Al Jazeera.
He also noted that the religious freedoms of the Palestinian minority were under ever greater attack, most notably with the recent drafting of a so-called “muezzin bill,” which would crack down on mosques’ use of loudspeakers for the call to prayer.
“Given this hostile political climate, the battle to gain legitimacy for our religious symbols becomes all the more important,” he said. “Otherwise, we face a dark future.”
Nonetheless, there has been a backlash, especially from secular Jews, against the rigid control exercised by Orthodox rabbis.
Haifa’s mayor, Yona Yahav, overruled the city’s rabbi in 2012 when he tried to ban Christmas trees and new year’s parties. The Jewish new year occurs several months before the Christian one.
And, last year, in the face of a legal challenge from Hiddush, the chief rabbinate backed down on threats to revoke the kosher certificates of businesses that celebrate Christmas.
But while the ban on Christmas trees has been formally lifted, in practice it is still widely enforced, according to Bogomolny.
“The problem is that the chief rabbinate actually has no authority over city rabbis, who can disregard its rulings, as we have seen with the letter issued by the Jerusalem rabbis,” he said.
Most hotels wanted to ignore the prohibition on Christmas trees because it was bad for business, but feared being punished.
“It is a problem throughout the country,” he said. “The hotels are afraid to take a stand. If they try to fight it through the courts, it will be costly and could take years to get a ruling.”
One hotel manager in West Jerusalem to whom Al Jazeera spoke on condition of anonymity said he feared “retaliation” from the rabbis.
“The letter was clearly intended to intimidate us,” he said. “The Christian tourists are here to celebrate Christmas and we want to help them do it, but not if it costs us our certificate.”
18 dec 2016
Rabbi David Harrison was indicted by the Jerusalem District Court for acts of rape, sodomy, indecent assault and intimidation committed against a 14-year-old girl while serving as a rabbi in a religious school for girls.
Rabbi David Harrison has been charged with a dozen counts of sodomy, rape, indecent assault and threatening behavior for acts he committed while serving as rabbi of a religious girls' school in Jerusalem.
According to an indictment filed Sunday morning in the Jerusalem District Court, the acts attributed to him occurred two to four times a week.
Esther Bar-Zion, who is representing Harrison, said, "From our point of view, nothing has been attributed to my client."
The court decided to release Harrison to house arrest, where he will remain with his son in Petah Tikva.
Harrison, aged 58 from Jerusalem, worked at Ulpanat Beit Shlomit between the years 2007-2010. He is accused of committing serious sexual offenses against teenage girls—including rape—while he was working at the school.
According to the indictment, in 2009 while serving as a substitute teacher, Harrison met a 14-year-old student who eventually filed a report with the police when she was 20. According to the victim, he would ask her to perform tasks in class, such as handing out papers, and touch her each time to judge gauge her response.
Eventually, Harrison asked her to meet him alone in a teacher's lounge where he attacked her for the first time. Afterward, he would tell her to meet him again every week in the teacher's lounge or another area of the school where he would perform dozens of acts of rape, sodomy and indecent assault.
The indictment also alleges that Harrison threatened the girl and told her he would hurt her and tell everyone she was a prostitute. Harrison also threatened the girl that she would be kicked out of school and no other school would accept her. Additionally, he also threatened to tell her parents and others that she acted inappropriately with him.
According to the indictment, on one particular occasion, Harrison even forced the girl to take the "morning after" pill.
Harrison denied the allegations, saying "When I was arrested, I was told I'm suspected of rape. I went into questioning smug and didn't ask for a lawyer because I was sure this was a complete mistake. There isn't even a hint of an offense. I didn't touch (her). I ask to be allowed to undergo a polygraph test and to be confronted with the girl ... The school was full of people; I didn't even have a private office there."
Rabbi David Harrison has been charged with a dozen counts of sodomy, rape, indecent assault and threatening behavior for acts he committed while serving as rabbi of a religious girls' school in Jerusalem.
According to an indictment filed Sunday morning in the Jerusalem District Court, the acts attributed to him occurred two to four times a week.
Esther Bar-Zion, who is representing Harrison, said, "From our point of view, nothing has been attributed to my client."
The court decided to release Harrison to house arrest, where he will remain with his son in Petah Tikva.
Harrison, aged 58 from Jerusalem, worked at Ulpanat Beit Shlomit between the years 2007-2010. He is accused of committing serious sexual offenses against teenage girls—including rape—while he was working at the school.
According to the indictment, in 2009 while serving as a substitute teacher, Harrison met a 14-year-old student who eventually filed a report with the police when she was 20. According to the victim, he would ask her to perform tasks in class, such as handing out papers, and touch her each time to judge gauge her response.
Eventually, Harrison asked her to meet him alone in a teacher's lounge where he attacked her for the first time. Afterward, he would tell her to meet him again every week in the teacher's lounge or another area of the school where he would perform dozens of acts of rape, sodomy and indecent assault.
The indictment also alleges that Harrison threatened the girl and told her he would hurt her and tell everyone she was a prostitute. Harrison also threatened the girl that she would be kicked out of school and no other school would accept her. Additionally, he also threatened to tell her parents and others that she acted inappropriately with him.
According to the indictment, on one particular occasion, Harrison even forced the girl to take the "morning after" pill.
Harrison denied the allegations, saying "When I was arrested, I was told I'm suspected of rape. I went into questioning smug and didn't ask for a lawyer because I was sure this was a complete mistake. There isn't even a hint of an offense. I didn't touch (her). I ask to be allowed to undergo a polygraph test and to be confronted with the girl ... The school was full of people; I didn't even have a private office there."
28 nov 2016
Following an affidavit issued by appointed IDF Chief Rabbi Col. Eyal Karim in which he admits he was wrong, High Court shelves Meretz petition seeking to prevent Karim from assuming the position; High Court: 'It is a shame the clear words of the respondent were not expressed earlier.'
The Israel High Court shelved a petition on Monday put forth by Meretz attempting to block the appointment of Rabbi Eyal Karim as the IDF's chief rabbi. Karim can officially assume the position following a ceremony to be held Thursday.
Meretz Chairperson Zehava Gal-On, MK Mihal Rozin and MK Tamar Zandberg said in response, "We respect the High Court for standing by its promise to clarify Rabbi Karim's words, and we respect the decision not to cancel the appointment. We are pleased the judges didn't reject the petition without reason, and we are sure this ruling was justifiably detailed, and that the verdict will be quoted from in the future."
The three MKs added that "This is a real precedent in the courts intervening in the appointment system, particularly in the IDF, based on statements alone. This is a warning from the court that veering from IDF values will not be overlooked."
Karim filed an affidavit to the High Court in which he said, "Every rabbi, whether he be a teacher or a public official is required to be capable of retracting and admitting a mistake. I am not afraid to say that I was wrong. I was wrong in that I thought briefly about complicated questions which have more to them than just one halakhik (Jewish legal) stance. I was wrong in that I didn't clarify my words accurately and there were those who were hurt by them. I have already whole-heartedly apologized for this."
Karim clarified his remarks and said that he never permitted rape. Referring to previous anti-gay statements he had made in the past, Karim added that one should treat all people with dignity and equality, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation.
Sunday, Meretz MKs issued a response to Karim's affidavit, saying that they "welcome the clear statements written in the affidavit and the moral message included in it, which is important for all soldiers in the IDF." As such, the MKs explained that the petition had served its purpose and they will not insist on continuing proceedings.
"We also think there is no room for further consideration of the petition in light of the detailed affidavit provided by the respondent," said Chief Justice and Supreme Court President Miriam Naor in the ruling. "It is a shame the clear words of the respondent were not expressed earlier."
Naor noted in the ruling that it was "better late than never. The clear statement by the respondent's affidavit is that these statements are inconsistent with the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. We wish Col. Eyal Karim much success in such an important role and hope he brings glory to the IDF and the State of Israel.
The Israel High Court shelved a petition on Monday put forth by Meretz attempting to block the appointment of Rabbi Eyal Karim as the IDF's chief rabbi. Karim can officially assume the position following a ceremony to be held Thursday.
Meretz Chairperson Zehava Gal-On, MK Mihal Rozin and MK Tamar Zandberg said in response, "We respect the High Court for standing by its promise to clarify Rabbi Karim's words, and we respect the decision not to cancel the appointment. We are pleased the judges didn't reject the petition without reason, and we are sure this ruling was justifiably detailed, and that the verdict will be quoted from in the future."
The three MKs added that "This is a real precedent in the courts intervening in the appointment system, particularly in the IDF, based on statements alone. This is a warning from the court that veering from IDF values will not be overlooked."
Karim filed an affidavit to the High Court in which he said, "Every rabbi, whether he be a teacher or a public official is required to be capable of retracting and admitting a mistake. I am not afraid to say that I was wrong. I was wrong in that I thought briefly about complicated questions which have more to them than just one halakhik (Jewish legal) stance. I was wrong in that I didn't clarify my words accurately and there were those who were hurt by them. I have already whole-heartedly apologized for this."
Karim clarified his remarks and said that he never permitted rape. Referring to previous anti-gay statements he had made in the past, Karim added that one should treat all people with dignity and equality, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation.
Sunday, Meretz MKs issued a response to Karim's affidavit, saying that they "welcome the clear statements written in the affidavit and the moral message included in it, which is important for all soldiers in the IDF." As such, the MKs explained that the petition had served its purpose and they will not insist on continuing proceedings.
"We also think there is no room for further consideration of the petition in light of the detailed affidavit provided by the respondent," said Chief Justice and Supreme Court President Miriam Naor in the ruling. "It is a shame the clear words of the respondent were not expressed earlier."
Naor noted in the ruling that it was "better late than never. The clear statement by the respondent's affidavit is that these statements are inconsistent with the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. We wish Col. Eyal Karim much success in such an important role and hope he brings glory to the IDF and the State of Israel.
25 nov 2016
Safed's chief rabbi explains Fri. morning that shooting Arab arsonists would have saved the country from its current wave of flames; Rabbi Elyakim Levanon says that fires won't cease until 'Regulation Bill' is passed.
Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, posted a ruling on Jewish law on Friday morning that permits shooting Arabs who are trying to cause fires, even if this were to violate Shabbat. Another leading rabbi explained Thursday that the country's fires were divine punishment for delays in the "Regulation Bill."
Eliyahu answered a question that had been posed to him asking if Shabbat could be desecrated to stop, report or shoot Arabs trying to light fires near the questioner's home. The reply read in part, "The prime minister described the arson as terrorism. One of the heads of the Shin Bet called it a weapon of mass description. It's a miracle that people weren't burned alive, but we don't rely on miracles. It's certainly permitted and required to violate Shabbat to stop the fire and the arsonists. And if necessary, also to shoot them."
Eliyahu continued, "If in Beit Me'ir, Carmiel or Haifa they had shot the arsonists, we would have been spared from this disaster. I hope that the chief of staff and the police commissioner will give clear instructions to soldiers and police officers and citizens drawn from the fact that the fires have not finishes, and it is their responsibility."
Thursday night, Samaria Regional Council Rabbi Elyakim Levanon did not seem to believe that shooting arsonists could quench the flames. He posited that the dry weather and the fires that have broken out across the country as a partial result are divine punishment for the intended evacuation of West Bank settlements, such as Amona.
In his own publication, Levanon, another leading figure in Religious Zionism and on the right, wrote, "Anybody with eyes and brain in his head can see how the country thirsts for water. We're at the end of the month of November according to the Gregorian calendar, and there's still no sign of rain… strong winds… everything is dry, flammable, burning!"
He explained, "The hand of God is doing this" because "the Israeli government is delaying the passage of the Regulation Bill."
Levanon explained how the curse of conflagrations could be averted: "Until the shame of the threat of destroying the settlements in the Land of Israel, in Amona, in Ofra and in many other places is not removed, there will be a drought! The day that the decision is taken that can't be gotten around with legal wrangling—that very day the rains of blessing will begin to fall."
Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, posted a ruling on Jewish law on Friday morning that permits shooting Arabs who are trying to cause fires, even if this were to violate Shabbat. Another leading rabbi explained Thursday that the country's fires were divine punishment for delays in the "Regulation Bill."
Eliyahu answered a question that had been posed to him asking if Shabbat could be desecrated to stop, report or shoot Arabs trying to light fires near the questioner's home. The reply read in part, "The prime minister described the arson as terrorism. One of the heads of the Shin Bet called it a weapon of mass description. It's a miracle that people weren't burned alive, but we don't rely on miracles. It's certainly permitted and required to violate Shabbat to stop the fire and the arsonists. And if necessary, also to shoot them."
Eliyahu continued, "If in Beit Me'ir, Carmiel or Haifa they had shot the arsonists, we would have been spared from this disaster. I hope that the chief of staff and the police commissioner will give clear instructions to soldiers and police officers and citizens drawn from the fact that the fires have not finishes, and it is their responsibility."
Thursday night, Samaria Regional Council Rabbi Elyakim Levanon did not seem to believe that shooting arsonists could quench the flames. He posited that the dry weather and the fires that have broken out across the country as a partial result are divine punishment for the intended evacuation of West Bank settlements, such as Amona.
In his own publication, Levanon, another leading figure in Religious Zionism and on the right, wrote, "Anybody with eyes and brain in his head can see how the country thirsts for water. We're at the end of the month of November according to the Gregorian calendar, and there's still no sign of rain… strong winds… everything is dry, flammable, burning!"
He explained, "The hand of God is doing this" because "the Israeli government is delaying the passage of the Regulation Bill."
Levanon explained how the curse of conflagrations could be averted: "Until the shame of the threat of destroying the settlements in the Land of Israel, in Amona, in Ofra and in many other places is not removed, there will be a drought! The day that the decision is taken that can't be gotten around with legal wrangling—that very day the rains of blessing will begin to fall."
