An Israeli radio host was suspended after he said that he’d be happy if frum Jews would “hang themselves with their tefillin.”
Natan Zahavi, who is known for his extremist statements and his vitriol against Yiddishkeit, said during his program on Radio 103FM: “All these lowlifes quote me pessukim from the Tanach: Daven, put on tefillin, light Shabbos candles, separate challah, wear modest clothing. Get the heck out of here with the tznius and the challos and hadlakot neirot and the tefillin! I’d be happy if some of them would tie their tefillin around their necks and hang themselves with all that they do nothing but are public representatives.”
Zahavi’s words raised a furor and were excoriated by right-wing politicians as well by the B’Tzalmo human rights organization, which stated: “We urgently appealed to the Commissioner of The Second Authority for Television and Radio with the demand to impose a huge financial fine on the station as well as to fire the broadcaster Natan Zahavi. For thousands of years, Jews were moiser nefesh for tefillin and the broadcaster is inciting and calling people to take their tefillin straps and kill themselves with them? Where have we come to in the State of Israel, the state of the Jews, that religious people and tefillin are denigrated like this?”
Radio 103FM responded to the furor, saying that it immediately suspended Zahavi: “The words that Natan Zahavi said today are blatant and insulting. It’s needless to say that they have no place in the station’s broadcasts and we condemn them in every way. Free speech also has red lines. The radio’s CEO made a decision to immediately suspend the broadcaster and keep him far away from the microphone until his statements are clarified, after which decisions will be made regarding his future.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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20 Responses
Not enough ..Hang him by his shoe lace
Not enough ..Hang him by his shoe lace
The face of reform and those who support them.
Oy nebach, this fellow is soooo sick.
“ until his statements are clarified” – LOL, there is nothing to clarify since he threw all his garbage outside already! This is rubish
Until his statements are clarified? Seriously?
He’s probably vaccinated.
the guy said publicly what Zionism has been trying to do since Ben Gurion’s days, it is known that the Chazon ish refused to look at ben gurion’s face as its assur to look at the face of a rasha and the zionists named their only airport after him.
I’m waiting for the the complaints about cancel culture.
This is not the same thing.
if one mocks the torarh, doesnt belive in torah min hashomayim he has no claim to israel!
‘v’yiten lohem nachlas goyim b’avir yismeru toiroisay’ PSALMS
If such vile words would be uttered by anyone in a foreign country or some website not hosted in E.Y., there would be a huge outcry from the Israeli government and the ADL, and all those who purportedly stand up for Jewish rights. At least the radio station here suspended him, let’s hope permanently.
LakewoodbOt:
There are lots of flavors of Zionists. There were those in the early days of resettling EY that were indeed militantly secular. Those Zionists are for the most part gone, a footnote in history. There were also plenty of Zionists who were ohavei Torah, and their names live on, such as Rav Kook.
This menuval is almost certainly no Zionist. The people who speak that way about yiddishkeit today Israel are generally
“Post-Zionists”
ithcik: the Meretz party is militanly anti frum and were in the coalition, Lapids party and Liebermans party both describe themselves as Zionist, the only “flavor” of zionism you are referring to is the literally the Religous Zionists party that recently produced from an offshoot Naftali Bennett not someone we frum should admire.
“until his statements are clarified”. He clarified it all himself. Send him to Jenin and leave him there.
0404 News (on Sunday) pointed to the fact that each scandal with this Lefty-liberal-radical he is suspended then he comes back. He should be banned, at least.
He is like a typical HAARETZ-hate-site guy.
He dosen’t deny that he is Jewish but just to be sure I think he should have another “brit milah”. I know a mohel with a hand tremor. That would be perfect.
Exactly what about his sick statement does the radio station think it needs to “clarify”. I think they meant to say “whitewash”. Shame on them. It is clear that he just hung himself and that is how it should remain.
Hes unfortunately the face of Zionism. The others are smart enough to hide it.
Oy nebach. Probably has an undetected brain tumor or something… what a nebach loser.
Speaking of his “clarrtification…” Just to clarify. He knows better. He is a leHachis, not a ‘tinok sheNishboh’ nor LeTeuovon. He is an Amos-Shocken head of Haaretz type.