Israeli rabbis: Do not rent to Arabs

[Thanas]

Via Haaretz

A group of 18 prominent rabbis, including the chief rabbi of Safed, signed a call urging Jews to refrain from renting or selling apartments to non-Jews.

According to a report which first appeared on Channel 1 television, most of the signatories are from Safed, a city that has seen an increase in its Arab student population that is enrolled at the town's local college.

Safed chief rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who has been criticized in the past for incendiary remarks against Arabs, is the most prominent figure to sign the letter.

Last week, Safed played host to an "emergency conference" which was held under the banner "Quiet War: Combating Assimilation in the Holy City of Safed". The event, which attracted 400 participants, was held at the Yigal Allon House, the municipal cultural center.

Haaretz has learned that the venue was reserved thanks to funding from the city's religious council. Far-right activist Baruch Marzel spoke at the event, as did a representative of the "Lahaba" organization, whose Hebrew acronym stands for "Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land."

Speakers at the conference expressed concern over plans to build a medical school in the city which they said would exacerbate the problem of "the Arab takeover of Safed."

The rabbis' letter, which was originally published months ago, urges Jewish owners of apartments to reconsider renting their properties to Arabs since it would deflate the value of their homes as well as those in the neighborhood.

"Their way of life is different than that of Jews," the letter stated. "Among [the gentiles] are those who are bitter and hateful toward us and who meddle into our lives to the point where they are a danger."

The rabbis also urge neighbors of anyone renting or selling property to Arabs to caution that person. After delivering the warning, the neighbor is then encouraged to issue notices to the general public and inform the community.

"The neighbors and acquaintances [of a Jew who sells or rents to an Arab] must distance themselves from the Jew, refrain from doing business with him, deny him the right to read from the Torah, and similarly [ostracize] him until he goes back on this harmful deed," the letter reads.

Letter prompted by rise in demand

There are currently 1,350 Arab students (out of a total student body of 2,200 ) matriculating at the Academic College in Safed. The increased demand for rented apartments prompted the rabbis to issue their call.

Mahmoud Abu Salah, the Arab representative of the Academic College Student Union, told Haaretz that his primary task is to aid Arab students in finding apartments to rent.

"The entire population in Safed listens to Rabbi Eliyahu, not just the religious public," he said. "Sometimes I present myself as 'Tomer.' That is the only way people will agree to rent out their apartments. In one instance, we managed to find an apartment for rent in the nearby moshav of Biriya. When the neighbors understood that Arabs were moving in, they threatened to set the apartment on fire. The situation has become intolerable. There are students who come here from the Negev, the Triangle, Haifa and Wadi Ara. They have nowhere to live. We will combat this ugly phenomenon."

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu is the son of the late Mordechai Eliyahu, who once served as the chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel. Shmuel Eliyahu has been indicted in the past for incitement stemming from controversial remarks about Arabs. After a Palestinian suicide bomber killed nine people and wounded 50 on a bus at the Meron junction in northern Israel in August 2002, Eliyahu called on the Academic College to expel its Arab students.

"You can say the word 'racist' 20 times," Eliyahu once told an interviewer. "It doesn't have an effect on me. By the way, Jewish religious law prohibits the selling of apartments to Arabs and the renting of apartments to Arabs."

Officials in the State Prosecutor's Office told Haaretz: "We have yet to receive any complaint on the issue. If and when a complaint is received, the matter will be investigated."

I'll reserve final judgement on this issue until the reaction of the state is shown, but I really doubt they will do anything.

[Talhe]

Not sure about this incident, but a similar, more recent one has been condemned by the government:

Netanyahu slams top rabbis' call to forbid renting homes to Arabs
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ne ... s-1.329384

And religious authorities have criticized the similar one as well:
http://kolharav.blogspot.com/2010/12/ra ... se-to.html
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3998450,00.html
(Second one is in Hebrew, unfortunately)

Of course, while condemning this sort of thing is both necessary and morally required, it'd be better if they were stripped of their positions.

[Thanas]

That is good to hear.

Though I got to wonder what kind of disconnect there is between those rabbis - who apparently hold titles and posts to which one would assume mainstreamers to be appointed to - and the rest of the Rabbis, because I know that a Rabbi in the EU would not be making such proclamations.

[Talhe]

That is good to hear.

Though I got to wonder what kind of disconnect there is between those rabbis - who apparently hold titles and posts to which one would assume mainstreamers to be appointed to - and the rest of the Rabbis, because I know that a Rabbi in the EU would not be making such proclamations.

Quite a large one if this petition is to be believed: Rabbis sign petition against religious discrimination
http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/Jewish ... ?id=199360

The American Jewish Committee has also condemned it (or at least one of their important Rabbis):
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/cont ... 19&notoc=1

I do wish that non-Israeli Jews would take more critical stances against Israel in general, instead of merely against the blatant, however.

EDIT: Apologies; I thought you meant Rabbis in general. The Hebrew post I posted in my first response comes from the National Religious Party (I think; my Hebrew is utterly atrocious, and I'm depending on it through second-hand sources).

Here is a Orthodox Rabbi condemning it, though: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 04,00.html

[fgalkin]

That is good to hear.

Though I got to wonder what kind of disconnect there is between those rabbis - who apparently hold titles and posts to which one would assume mainstreamers to be appointed to - and the rest of the Rabbis, because I know that a Rabbi in the EU would not be making such proclamations.

From what I hear, there has been a massive fundamentalization of the Rabbinate in the last 15 years or so, so that only the most obnoxious Haredi rabbis are being appointed to official positions.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Darth Yan]

for all of netenyahu's assholery, I do have to applaud him for this.

[bobalot]

for all of netenyahu's assholery, I do have to applaud him for this.

I wouldn't pat him on the back just yet. It all depends what actually happens on the ground.

[Talhe]

for all of netenyahu's assholery, I do have to applaud him for this.

I wouldn't pat him on the back just yet. It all depends what actually happens on the ground.

If he was intelligent, he'd scrap the Chief Rabbinate and replace it with something that limited religious authority which would put Israel towards a better track. But then, intelligence and Israeli PMs are things that don't go together enough.

[Pelranius]

Is it true that only marriages performed by Orthodox rabbis are legal is Israel? My Jewish friends have complained about that, but I find that to be a little bit extreme to believe on first analysis.

[General Zod]

Is it true that only marriages performed by Orthodox rabbis are legal is Israel? My Jewish friends have complained about that, but I find that to be a little bit extreme to believe on first analysis.

It certainly seems that way. Israel has quite a few other fucked up marriage laws.

[The Dark]

That is good to hear.

Though I got to wonder what kind of disconnect there is between those rabbis - who apparently hold titles and posts to which one would assume mainstreamers to be appointed to - and the rest of the Rabbis, because I know that a Rabbi in the EU would not be making such proclamations.

The head rabbi of Bnei Brak, Aaron Leib Steinman, who is one of the more respected Haredi rabbis, refused to even meet with Eliyahu.

They are making a fierce nationalistic statement. We will not irritate others, that is not the Haredi way. There are things that should not be done; what if there would be a similar call in Berlin against renting properties to Jews? Where is the public conscience? What will this do to Jews around the world? We must act responsibly.

Other leading rabbis (Yaakov Ariel, Yehuda Gilad, Ovadia Yosef, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv) have also refused to sign. It sounds like it's basically just the Safedi rabbis and a couple of others, with everyone else working to distance themselves from it. It's not quite their equivalent to Westboro, but they're also not in line with mainstream thought.

As far as the government goes, Attorney General Weinstein is investigating whether to bring charges against the petition signers.

[xt828]

In the article, the Arab representative of the Student Union mentions presenting himself as a 'Tomer' - what does that mean?

[Chaotic Neutral]

In the article, the Arab representative of the Student Union mentions presenting himself as a 'Tomer' - what does that mean?

http://tinyurl.com/273drng

[Thanas]

^If you do not have anything to add, do not post in this thread.

[Phantasee]

In the article, the Arab representative of the Student Union mentions presenting himself as a 'Tomer' - what does that mean?

Tomer is a popular name in the Hebrew language, in which it literally means "palm tree" and represents being upright and just.

I guess it's like calling yourself John instead of Jean if you're in a place that discriminates against the French.

[eyl]

Is it true that only marriages performed by Orthodox rabbis are legal is Israel? My Jewish friends have complained about that, but I find that to be a little bit extreme to believe on first analysis.

Sort of. The thing is, civil marriage doesn't exist in Israel (though the recent Civil Unions Law is a limited change in that situation). So you need to get married by officially recognized representatives of whatever religion you belong to (unless you opt for a common-law marriage). As far as Jews are concerned, Israel only recognizes Orthodox marriages AFAIK, so to that extent your friends are correct; however, non-Jews can get married under whatever religion they belong to. Also, marriages conducted abroad (including same-sex marriages, IIRC) are recognized by Israel, so a common tactic by those who can't or won't marry religiously is to go get married in Cyprus.

[hongi]

As far as Jews are concerned, Israel only recognizes Orthodox marriages AFAIK, so to that extent your friends are correct

...why? Isn't that absurd when most Israeli Jews are secular?

[Talhe]

As far as Jews are concerned, Israel only recognizes Orthodox marriages AFAIK, so to that extent your friends are correct

...why? Isn't that absurd when most Israeli Jews are secular?

Unless I'm mistaken, the marriage laws are a hold-over of the Ottoman rule of the mandate, and the various religious communities wish to keep it to maintain their monopoly. There have been moves to change it recently, with Yisrael Beiteinu succeeding in passing a weak version for civil marriages.

[eyl]

As far as Jews are concerned, Israel only recognizes Orthodox marriages AFAIK, so to that extent your friends are correct

...why? Isn't that absurd when most Israeli Jews are secular?

Unless I'm mistaken, the marriage laws are a hold-over of the Ottoman rule of the mandate, and the various religious communities wish to keep it to maintain their monopoly. There have been moves to change it recently, with Yisrael Beiteinu succeeding in passing a weak version for civil marriages.

Correct (except for the nitpick that Ottoman rule was before the Mandate)

[Bakustra]

Is it true that only marriages performed by Orthodox rabbis are legal is Israel? My Jewish friends have complained about that, but I find that to be a little bit extreme to believe on first analysis.

Sort of. The thing is, civil marriage doesn't exist in Israel (though the recent Civil Unions Law is a limited change in that situation). So you need to get married by officially recognized representatives of whatever religion you belong to (unless you opt for a common-law marriage). As far as Jews are concerned, Israel only recognizes Orthodox marriages AFAIK, so to that extent your friends are correct; however, non-Jews can get married under whatever religion they belong to. Also, marriages conducted abroad (including same-sex marriages, IIRC) are recognized by Israel, so a common tactic by those who can't or won't marry religiously is to go get married in Cyprus.

Slight correction- only recognized religions can perform marriages in Israel. Only Anglicans and Lutherans among Protestant Christians can get married in Israel, just as an example. I can't remember whether any other religions besides Christians, Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Baha'i can get married in Israel. Granted, these are mainly academic concerns except for missionaries, and I cannot feel too much sympathy for missionaries in general.

[Zed]

One of the articles quoted above clarifies that non-recognized religions can perform marriages in Israel, although this is done on an ad hoc basis, by petitioning the Ministry of Religious Affairs.