18erusalem Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar Shlita spoke with Kol Berama Radio on Monday evening 17 Menachem Av, addressing the attack last week at the Toeiva Parade, which left one teenager dead and five others injured.

Rav Amar stated unequivocally that the actions of the murderer, Yishai Schlisel, in the eyes of the Torah are nothing short of murder. “The Torah hasn’t changed and never will, and that which is prohibited by the Torah will always be prohibited” stated the rav.

Rabbi Amar decried the awful act committed, the magnitude of the chilul Hashem, explaining the problem begins when individuals feel they have the right to take the law into their own hands, which leads to a chilul Hashem of this magnitude in addition to blemishing an entire tzibur.

Rav Amar added that the Torah prohibited many things, including toeiva, but one does not have the right to take matters into one’s own hands. “The Gemara teaches us that even a Sanhedrin that executed a person once in seven years was viewed as murderous. How may a private person even entertain acting on his own? No matter how serious the offense, one does not have permission to act and there is no forgiveness for such actions”.

The rabbi lamented the individuals who feel licensed to kill if the victim is an Arab or a Jew whose life style is not acceptable. He stresses there is no heter and such actions, people acting on their own, would lead to an intolerable situation, one that would be worse than a civil war, reminding listeners the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed due to sinas chinam.

Speaking with Kol Berama host Moshe Glaser, Rav Amar added protesting is significant, and for those who feel this is the correct course of action, one must first consult with gedolim to determine how to protest correctly. However he stresses there is no heter for taking the law into one’s own hands. In the case of Yishai Schlisel, who murdered a teenage participant in the toeiva parade as well as wounding five others, some left with serious wounds. Rav Amar compares Schlisel’s actions with one who tries to extinguish a blaze using a gasoline hose. He stated no one has the right to spill the blood of another.

When asked how Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L acted in such situations, Rav Amar explained “Maran felt we should not protest strongly to avoid giving publicity to the matter among our own tzibur. He was concerned for the well-being of the innocent sheep of the flock who are not aware such lifestyles exist. However if one must protest, one must select the correct way but in this case, the protest added crime to their sin and chalila, this can lead to hate between one another H’ spare us”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)