Rabbi Yitzchak Peretz, the chief rabbi of Ra’anana had harsh words for the approximately 200 participants in this past Friday night’s to’eva parade in that city. In his letter circulated in shuls in the city the rav blames the to’eva community of forcing “unacceptable distorted life norms on the tzibur at large”, adding “It’s bad enough that they have no shame, but they harm the foundation of human morality. They are proud of these norms and proudly fly this flag and contaminate the public atmosphere and have a negative influence on our precious youth”, Rav Peretz added.
He questions how the community would react if tomorrow junkies took to the streets and proudly flew they banner, calling on the public to exhibit understanding, tolerance and an open mind.
Despite his open opposition, the rav did not call for protests for he felt doing so would only increase solidarity with the to’eva community.
Mayor Nachum Chofri expressed sharp criticism over the rav’s statements calling for “tolerance and dual existence”, expressing his opposition to the public defamation of these people by the city’s chief rabbi.
In his comment to the daily Haaretz, Rav Peretz declined to retract his criticism of the to’eva community, explaining Toras Yisrael defines what is and what is not acceptable and this is not open for discussion. “Don’t steal, don’t murder and don’t commit adultery are given to us by the torah and this is more severe than being a drug addict, which is also unacceptable but in the case of the to’eva, they fly this flag proudly and it is simply a prohibited lifestyle”.
Meretz Councilman Shai Even is calling on the mayor to fire Rav Peretz over his remarks, insisting that after his insulting remarks he is not fit to hold such a position, calling upon the mayor “to show him the door”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
A mayor cannot fire a rav ha’ir.
Kol hakavod to the Rav for making the statement and for not retracting it under public pressure. There are not enough public figures that come out against this abominable stain on humanity’s record. Be’avonoteinu it has become socially unacceptable to oppose these disgusting people and their twisted lifestyles, and those that do are often fired from their posts. Scary world we live in.
Stand strong, Rav Peretz and maybe someone on the border will hear you loud and clear.
its one thing to live a life of Toeiva its another to force a parade on people who feel its morally and spiritually reprehensible. The worst is the toeiva parade held annually in of all places – Yerushalayim our Holiest of Cities! She is truly an “Ir Navocha..” It is a disgrace to the Honor and Sanctity of the Torah. I do not envy the accountability of those who are willing to Sacrifice all of this for diplomatic and social brownie points.
EY is a democracy and that means, in part, that the rights of all to peacefully demonstrate is guaranteed. This was a peaceful demonstration, unlike the stone- throwing, dumpster burning demonstrations we read about almost weekly here on YWN by chareidim. To those who find these parades offensive, don’t participate and don’t attend.
Yasher koach, Rav Peretz!
EY is a democracy, and that means, in part, that a rov has the right to speak freely and proclaim the Torah’s view, and nobody has the right to shut his mouth. Which is what this article is about. Of course GBE ignores that.