Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo, chairman of the SOS Israel and Our Land of Israel movements, is taking back his call to fire rubber bullets at Israel Defense Forces soldiers and beat them up in response to similar actions on their part during the evacuation of Jewish communities in the West Bank.
Following the row sparked by his remarks, Wolpo said Tuesday evening, “God forbid should anyone fire at IDF soldiers, who engage in holy work serving the people of Israel and the Land of Israel… The comments were made as a result of a storm of emotions.”
Rabbi Wolpo issued a statement saying that the media reports on the matter were “biased.”
“The things I said in an interview to the ‘Moreshet’ radio station were after I took part in a protest for an IDF soldier whose house was destroyed,” he said, adding that his only intention was to express fear and wan against a civil war which could develop in light of the “criminal activity” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
He took advantage of the opportunity to blast Netanyahu and Barak, claiming that “because of personal considerations of ratings and popularity among the Left, and ad an act of surrender to (US President Barack) Obama’s pressures, they ordered masked policemen to fire rubber bullets at Jews, whose only sin is the love of Israel.”
(Source: Ynet)
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2 Responses
Anyone can do t’shuva; no less this person.
Are these words of Rabbi Wolpo words of teshuvah: “The comments were made as a result of a storm of emotions”? This statement does not identify the maker of the comments and attributes the comments to “a storm of emotions,” not to the person seeking to make teshuvah.
I am glad the rabbi has reversed his advice, but it is not clear to me (nor does it have to be) that he has made teshuvah.