The Hiddush organization has come out strongly against the Chief Rabbis of Israel after they announced their opposition to a planned Sukkos interfaith prayer service near the Kosel HaDromi between Jews and Christians. Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Shlita and Chief Rabbi David Lau Shlita called on event organizers to cancel the event, citing that while different religions must conduct themselves with mutual respect, this does not open a door permitting interfaith events such as these, particularly at the venue selected.
The Head of Hiddush-Freedom of Religion for Israel, Rabbi Uri Regev, Esq., turned to the Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, Esq., to launch an investigation against the Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau and other senior rabbis following a battle they waged against the public prayer vigil planned by the International Christian Embassy in the southern wall area of Har Habayis at the conclusion of the “Feast of Tabernacles”. Regev also asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Minister of Religious Services Naftali Bennett to dissociate themselves from attempts to prevent the prayer vigil and announce that they oppose these efforts.
According to Regev, “It is now apparent that the growing radicalization of the Israeli religious establishment and the ultra-Orthodox circles implicates Israel in a war that’s being waged against Christianity, and a confrontation with the Christian world.”
Regev adds “The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, among the Christian organizations most friendly towards Israel, has been organizing large scale pilgrimages annually on Feast of the Tabernacles, attended by thousands of Christian pilgrims from all over the world. At the conclusion of this year’s Feast of Tabernacles, a public prayer vigil is planned near the entrance leading to the southern wall of the Temple Mount.
“The extreme rabbinic organization ‘Derech Emunah’ and other rabbis launched a battle to prevent the pilgrims’ prayer. They published a proclamation titled ‘Make no alliance with them, nor show mercy to them’. They claim that planned events involve ‘missionaries that attempt to deceitfully enter into Jewish souls and strengthen the church’s hold on more sites in the Old City. We hereby proclaim that it should be prohibited to conduct rituals of idol worship in the surroundings of the Temple Mount.’ This proclamation was signed by, among others, the Chief Rabbi of Rehovot Simcha HaKohen Kook, the Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem Avigdor Nebenzahl, the Chief Rabbi of Petach Tikvah Micha Halevy, and the head of Derech Emunah Rabbi Baruch Efrati.
“This battle was joined by Rabbis Yosef and Lau who called on ‘those who are responsible for permitting this event – prevent the gathering.’ The Chief Rabbis maintain that “the purpose of the organizers is to dig their claws into the City and Holy Land, and to cut off our Jewish brothers from the land of the living. According to our Holy Torah, one must distance oneself from this, and it is absolutely forbidden to associate with them.”
Regev called on Netanyahu, Bennett and the Deputy Minister of Religious Services Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan to “publicly declare that you utterly reject the request of the Chief Rabbis.” He also asked Weinstein to “urgently consider whether, in making these public pronouncements, these rabbis have not committed an offense of “harming religious sensibilities” according Article 173 of the Israeli Penal Code and undermined the freedom of worship and public order.” Additionally, Regev asked Weinstein to “issue explicit guidelines to religious functionaries that often speak and act against adherents of other faiths; and instruct especially those among them who are civil servants as to the legal and disciplinary limitations that apply to them.” He noted that “in recent years, we have seen a growing radicalization in pronouncements coming out of these circles, which are often of racist nature, anti-Christian/Muslim and inciting. The time has come to put an end to it.”
According to Regev, “since gaining control over the Western Wall, causing immeasurable damage to the Diaspora-Israel relationship by denying the non-Orthodox and Women of the Wall the ability to worship at the Wall, the Chief Rabbinate and other ultra-Orthodox elements now seem to be aspiring to expand their control over additional historical sites, and have set their sights this time on the entry gates near the southern wall. Their religious fanaticism disregards the laws of the State, the principles of democracy and human liberties, and the strategic interests of the State of Israel; nor does it take into consideration the jeopardizing of the welfare of Jewish communities around the world”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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12 Responses
Good to see chief rabbis with some backbone. This religion is bent on missionizing and converting jews. Lets not forget the thousand years we suffered at their hands. Death, torture, evictions, etc. are unforgivable even with an apology. They might speak nicely to us, it’s still a sales pitch. They are after our souls. When the stakes are this high, a jew should make an informed decision rather than hearing a one sided salesperson selling him something which might be soo bad for him.
They have to learn the lesson of the holocaust. Fraternising with the umos haolam did not help and will never help. We are a nation that must live alone. הן עם לבדד ישכון
Regev and his Hiddush organization are the greatest affronts to religious sensitivities. His organization is a rabid anti-charedi,anti-dati organization and should be banned for racism.YWN shoulsbe making this clear before quoting his nonsense!
Which religion does this regav practice? if judaism, what code of jewish law is his guide. does he have his own version?
…and why, exactly, is this Regev kofer being referred to as “Rabbi”?
The Chief Rabbinate is forgetting that they are the Medinah’s “chief rabbinate”. They are agents of the state, whose duty is to further the interests of the state, as defined by its elected leaders. They are well paid (by rabbinical standards), but in return they are expected to obey their masters. If they want to be fanatical about Yiddishkeit, they’ll have to forgo their state salaries along with their zionist principles and become hareidim.
Akuperma boruch Hashem the chief rabbinate are chareidim. They are there to uphold real Jewish laws and values. They are not fanatical.
Hiddush is a reform movement who if cholliloh successfull in any small way would destroy spritually and physically the jewish state. Bringing thousands of pilgrims on Succos is just the beginning… The Chief Rabbinate has the duty to stop this – that’s what they are paid for.
Hiddush & Uri Regev are both anti-Torah and anti-Jewish. They are similar to reform which is a practice that is definitely not a Jewish practice.
This hiddush and regev should be expelled from Israel and sent to Saudi Arabia and/or Qatar. Regev, sell your baloney to the arabs; We Jews already have the Torah and real Judaism.
justasec: If the chief rabbis are “hareidim” then they wouldn’t be working as government rabbis. The atlernative is to believe they are fools for not realizing that the government of Eretz Yisrael is run by anti-Torah secular fanatics. From what I know of them, one can assume they are not fools.
The American equivalent, quite common in the early 20th century, were orthodox rabbis who accepted positions as rabbis of non-orthodox shuls (the logic was “I let them be frei, and they let me be frum”) which usually ended up with the “rabbi” become very unorthodox, or unemployed.
It is well known that Rav Ovadia z.l only became chief Rabbi in order to increase torah and mitzva observance and he encouraged his children to do the same from public positions.
#10 Reminds of the orthodox young rabbi who was accepted in conservative temple (he wanted to kiruv them, Of course it worked the other way around). So after 25 years of loyal service the board decided to throw a party lekovod the rabbi. Nu, so during dancing the president asks the rabbi ‘may i dance with the ‘rebbitzen’ to which he answered of course. Then he remarked ‘this is the first ‘shales noshim’ he had in 25 years