Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann stated on Tuesday at the Israel Bar Association in Eilat, that Israel should accept refugees from Darfur. He stated that Israel must adhere to the principles of “biblical compassion.” Friedmann further said that “this is a question that is currently before the state of Israel, and there is a direct line with the what occurred 3,000 years ago and more, at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.”
According to Friedmann, “There are instructions in the Torah which teach about compassion, and in dimensions which we do not see in the law of other peoples. The emphasis is on why there is a need for compassion, the source of this biblical compassion.”
“The question that Israel must ask itself is, to what extent is it within that pathway of compassion?”
His statements come on the heels of Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau’s appeal to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – on Erev Shavuos – in a letter to release the Sudanese refugees held in Israeli jails (reported HERE on YW).
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19 Responses
and what of the poor palestinian refugees in the torah?
What a Tzaddik he is, this Friedmann!!! All of a sudden he is “basing something on the Torah”.
This same Tzaddik, though, is against the Torah laws of abomination, when the Torah clearly mentions in Vayikra, chapters 18-20, that G-d HATES abomination and will cause the land to vomit its inhabitants.
This Friedmann Tzaddik is against a Law that SOME decent MK’s have proposed this week to limit the ability for an annual Filth Parade due to religious considerations or concern for public order.
And this is Israeli “JUSTICE MINISTER”! He’s as corrupt as the other justices in Israel. Phooooooey!!!!!!!!!!
let all the rubbish in so london does not need to have them
If he is so concerned about the Torah, what about the other 612 mitzvos??!!
Oh, and this apikorus knows what the Torah says. Does the Justice minister know if Shmiras Shabbos is a D’Rabbonon or a D’ohrayso? And is he referring to the Tur, Torah She’Beksav, or the Gemorrah?
These double-faced zionists know no nd to their hypocracy.
After thoroughly trashing the Torah Hakedosha on every available opportunity as an antiquated relic, they suddenly remember it to misuse in their corrupt ways.
Not really coming here to add much. Just annoyed when they suddenly become experts on biblical law. Rminds me of the Conservative rabbi who was telling me the Orthodox should stop pestering about all these rules and do the important Mitzvohs like visiting the sick.(Mind you he was pretty lousy at that himself as told by his members) Of course my response was where to his knowledge is the source for visiting the sick in the Torah. Mumble
I was looking in the wrong places for Daas Torah! Oh why, oh why hadn’t I discovered the justice minister sooner…
Does he have a shailah hotline? I hope so..
“Disgusting,” said Urbmase, a religious zionist. What? A religious zionist?
If the torah says to let them come, the Supreme Court will have to say that they shouldn’t.
The response from amhaaretz is at least the correctly identified. A justice minister reflects the opinion of Rabbi Lau and all he receives from this audience is abuse. Israel admitted vietnamese boat people much to its credit.
Is this action halachically mandated? I have an opinion but certainly can entertain the possibility that it is not absolutely required. However, I have no doubt that the Ramban’s famous edict at the beginning of Kedoshim may have relevence.
The justice minister does not reflect daat torah as the term is currently used in the vernacular and might sue for libel if he was accused of doing so. But, in my opinion, he does reflect basic Torah values and profound daat. are we not all charachterized as Rachamanim??
At least he is quoting the Torah’s will as a legitimate way to set policy. That’s nice.
Charliehall:
This corrupt justice minister “gets trashed” because of his anti-Torah rulings on extremely important issues. The Torah law is not made to pick and choose from. There are 613 commandments that every single Jew including the Israeli “Justice” ministers (if you want to call them that) are required to abide by. It’s not a game where they can make the rules.
And as such a “compassionate” person, when he’ll start having “compassion” for Religious Jews, that’s when he’ll “deserve praise”. In the meantime, he’s just another self-hating liberal Jew without any moral values.
I am dissapointed by the nature of most of the comments on this issue. If you have no idea, and I mean absolutely no idea, of what you are talking about, than perhaps it is better not to comment. I am addressing this to :Bar26, Baki, Iamecstien, amhaaretz, Joseph, Flatbush Buuby, Shmeel, Bubkiss. With all due respect.
Esrog, would you like to tell me the number of the U.N. Partition Plan of 1948? Would you please cite for me exactly which poskim hold that the Minister is correct? What about Reb Moshe’s p’sak that we are to be me’gayer all of them because we do not know if they are from Zera Avrohom? Would you please cite exactly where in Igros Moshe that may be?
Maybe we are more informed than we choose to reveal and that what gives us the courage to make the statements that we do. For someone who advocates that we set policy of Eretz Yisrael based not on what the Halacha says but on what “feels good” and then claims to know that it is in the Torah is ludicrous.
esrog, you are the only one who does know. may i suggest you advise yw to only accept your comments?
Dear Flatbush Bubby,
I am thrilled to see how informed you are. However, despite all of the above information, I honestly believe the above comments were made out of judgement which neglected to consider the most important aspects of this issue, and in general the world we live in.
The minister of law, who is secular, presented his opinion, and backed it by the spirit of Torah the way he understands it. For all I know, he may have written his opinion on Shabbos. So we who consider ourselves to be Torah Loyal, immediaely attack him.
This comes only from being misinformed about who Israeli secular Jews are, How they see their own identity, and their Judaism. As someone who is involved in this field, I can assure you that they give these issues serious thought. Despite what we think, they are proud of their Jewish identity and Judaism. They would be very reluctant to give it up. They also know more than what we think they do. They differ from us only in their loyalty to the Shulchan Oruch.
So what should we do? We should use physical violence to convince them why the shame parade is wrong. We should use verbal violence to convince the minister to keep the rest of the Torah. Ofcourse they will understand (especially after reading these comments). They will immediately understand why their humanistic values were wrong, and will lovingly accept the authority of the Shulcan Oruch. And than Moshiach will come.
Yet suprisingly they are not standing in line to buy a Shulchan Oruch set. And I’ll tell you why. The people who keep the shulchan Oruch, when coming across such headlines, only attack as opposed to reason. Secular Jews are intelligent people, and can accept different oppinions (something we can’t do). They are open to understand you provided that you debate like a mentch, and reason with brains. Perhaps a little respect would also help. This reminds me of what chazal teach, Ohev Es Habriyos Umekorvan LaTorah.
In the mean time, keep attacking, bashing, and staying informed. Will see how far you’ll get.
esrog,
The Reform too believe they understand Judaism and many love Judaism. But we must still advsie them they are wrong.
Joseph,
You are one thousand precent right!!!
Now how exactly do we go about advising them that they are wrong???
Not by debating like teengers.
All the best.