On this morning's drive into work, I heard IDF radio personality Razi Barkai interview a resident of the Jerusalem "Jabbel Mukabre" neighborhood about last night's attempt to dismantle the house of the terrorist who shot up the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva a week and half ago.
This person's house came under a barrage of rocks by angry right wing demonstrators,
upset at the Israeli government's refusal to implement its own decision of dismantling the house of the terrorist...and they wanted to carry out the law themselves.
Initial thoughts that came to mind:
1. The Arab interviewee justifies the action of the terrorist because of "seeing day after day [Arab] children killed by the IDF", yet gets all Judge Judy indignant when a crowd wants revenge for seeing yeshiva students killed by a resident of his neighborhood and they throw rocks at his home. Doesn't he see any comparison?
2. Arab kids throw rocks all the time, they are released by the justice system immediately (in the best case that they were even detained)
3. Why did the group throw rocks? They would have been far more effective if they just marched into the neighborhood and held signs: "We demand the eviction of terrorists and their supporters" That would have conveyed their message just as clearly.
Initial reports right after the terror attack at Merkaz HaRav (which I personally heard on IDF radio and Israel Radio channel 2) that the terrorist was a bus driver, employed by the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva. Within 24 hours this was denied by Merkaz HaRav. Some have commented to me that they think he did work there, but Merkaz HaRav didn't want to admit it, so they denied it.
And then...one of the foremost Gedolim and poskim of our generation, R' Chaim Kanievsky formally announces that one should not hire Arabs...and definitely not in yeshivot....for it's a matter of life and death...and we are at war with them.
No distinction was made between Israeli Arab and Palestinian Arab (the terrorist who attacked Merkaz HaRav was an Israeli Arab).
Rafi G. asks the same question that I thought of; why is it suddenly forbidden to hire Arabs, yet the Ultra Orthodox world has no problem buying Shmitta produce from Israeli Arabs...and even Palestinian Arabs in Gaza! We have been saying for years that its a matter of life and death, and yet everyone turned a blind eye to the inherent danger of buying produce from Gaza Arabs?
I wonder if the Police will now target R' Chaim Kanievsky -- people who printed t-shirts advocating only Jewish Labor were arrested, tried, and found guilty of "incitement" a few years back.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
This person's house came under a barrage of rocks by angry right wing demonstrators,
upset at the Israeli government's refusal to implement its own decision of dismantling the house of the terrorist...and they wanted to carry out the law themselves.
Razi asked the person; "How far do you live from the terrorist's house?"
The person replied, "about 2 kilometers...but the real question you need to ask me is how did a young person who was about to get married, get into the situation where he did this thing"
Razi: "OK, why don't you tell me what were the motives behind the terrorist's attack?"
The person replied: "We are brothers and sisters of the Palestinian nation, and seeing day after day children in Gaza killed by the IDF, he did what he did. And then last night, this large group of settlers came and threw rocks at my house on their way to that person's house. How dare they."
Initial thoughts that came to mind:
1. The Arab interviewee justifies the action of the terrorist because of "seeing day after day [Arab] children killed by the IDF", yet gets all Judge Judy indignant when a crowd wants revenge for seeing yeshiva students killed by a resident of his neighborhood and they throw rocks at his home. Doesn't he see any comparison?
2. Arab kids throw rocks all the time, they are released by the justice system immediately (in the best case that they were even detained)
3. Why did the group throw rocks? They would have been far more effective if they just marched into the neighborhood and held signs: "We demand the eviction of terrorists and their supporters" That would have conveyed their message just as clearly.
Initial reports right after the terror attack at Merkaz HaRav (which I personally heard on IDF radio and Israel Radio channel 2) that the terrorist was a bus driver, employed by the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva. Within 24 hours this was denied by Merkaz HaRav. Some have commented to me that they think he did work there, but Merkaz HaRav didn't want to admit it, so they denied it.
And then...one of the foremost Gedolim and poskim of our generation, R' Chaim Kanievsky formally announces that one should not hire Arabs...and definitely not in yeshivot....for it's a matter of life and death...and we are at war with them.
No distinction was made between Israeli Arab and Palestinian Arab (the terrorist who attacked Merkaz HaRav was an Israeli Arab).
Rafi G. asks the same question that I thought of; why is it suddenly forbidden to hire Arabs, yet the Ultra Orthodox world has no problem buying Shmitta produce from Israeli Arabs...and even Palestinian Arabs in Gaza! We have been saying for years that its a matter of life and death, and yet everyone turned a blind eye to the inherent danger of buying produce from Gaza Arabs?
I wonder if the Police will now target R' Chaim Kanievsky -- people who printed t-shirts advocating only Jewish Labor were arrested, tried, and found guilty of "incitement" a few years back.
