The Israeli representative, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef Shlita, addressed the boycotts against the Israel in his speech at the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan, participated by the secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, saying: “Recently we saw with our own eyes that words can kill. It is our obligation as leaders to express our repulsion towards any kind of boycott”.
Rabbi Yosef also addressed the Secretary-General, with whom he spoke personally during the Congress, and called him to start an initiative which will fight the phenomena of boycotting: “It is not enough not to cooperate with it, because one should also fight it actively. Those who turn to boycott are not interested in true peace as boycotts bring to the opposite outcome”.
In his speech Rabbi Yosef explained that to reach eventual peace between nations and religions, one should exercise an approach of tolerance. He explained that Judaism teaches us this lesson, and that is why we take three steps back in the tefilla of “He who makes peace in His heavens” (“Oseh Shalom Bimromav”). “To reach peace, every side ought to take 3 steps backwards”.
The Rabbi thanked his host, President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, and ended his speech with a blessing to the tens of participants in situ: “He who makes peace in His heavens, May He make peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen”. It was responded by an ovation. An additional closed-media speech was made by the Rabbi of the High Council of the religious leaders.
Tens of religious leaders attended the Congress; including representatives from countries Israel has no diplomatic relations with, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Afghanistan. Moreover, heads of states also participated in the Congress; among them is Abdallah, King of Jordan.
Rabbi Yosef at the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Se vet helfin ve a toiten bankis.
Private citizens have the right to boycott whomever they choose. Countries can pass anti-discrimination law that cover boycotting a foreign country, but they hardly have to. Basically, in anything other than a communist type economy, what private citizens do is their own business.
Many Jews have been boycotting German goods, and it was more prevalent in the mid-20th century? Could the government have passed a law requiring Jews to buy German goods during the post-Nazi period.