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When Rabbis Give Less Than Sage Advice on Arabs
Opinion
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More in Forward ForumJerusalem has seen plenty of terrorist attacks, this month’s massacre at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva being only the latest. Every attack has stirred the emotions of the city’s Jewish residents, and sometimes Arabs have been indiscriminately beaten.
I remember a story about two Arab employees of the Jerusalem Municipality who in the wake of an attack found themselves stranded in the middle of an agitated Jewish crowd chanting “death to the Arabs.” The two experienced Arabs didn’t panic; instead, they donned yarmulkes they had kept for just such a contingency and joined the crowd in yelling anti-Arab obscenities.
With nerves being so sensitive, it’s no wonder that Jerusalem can be quickly thrown into mayhem. It is always surprising, however, to realize how quickly life here goes back to normal.
The same peddlers in the Mahane Yehuda market who scream the worst anti-Arab things to television crews after an attack go on employing their loyal Arab employees. Everybody in Jerusalem knows that life must go on, and that people, Arabs and Jews alike, have to support their families.
This past week, however, things seem to have changed.
Following the Mercaz Harav attack, the heads of a yeshiva in Bnei Brak asked Rabbi Chaim Kanyevsky — a major posek, or halachic decisor, and one of the leaders of the Haredi community — whether they should keep an Arab employee or fire him. They told the rabbi that although the Arab was middle aged and they didn’t suspect him of being involved in any way with terrorism, they were still unsure whether they should employ him. Kanyevsky ruled categorically that they should fire him.
“According to Halacha,” he said, “one shouldn’t employ Arabs, especially not in yeshivot.”
In the wake of the ruling, Haredi emissaries went to the Bukhara market in Jerusalem and urged the merchants there to follow Kanyevsky’s ruling and fire their Arab workers.
Then Rabbi Dov Lior, chairman of the Yesha rabbinical council and one of the leading scholars in the Religious Zionist movement, took Kanyevsky’s prohibition one step further. Not only is it forbidden by rabbbinic law to employ Arabs, Lior stated in a halachic ruling, it is also forbidden to rent homes to them.
Such suggestions are wrong, both morally and religiously. Practically, they are simply stupid.
Jews, more than anyone else, should be careful not to stigmatize people. There are good Arabs and bad Arabs, and there are good Jews and bad Jews. When Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and subsequently God was ready to finish off all the Israelites, Moses and Aaron begged him not to do so: “Shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?” (Numbers, 16, 22)
The Torah goes out of its way to warn us to treat the stranger decently. “One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you” (Numbers, 15, 15); and “love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy, 10, 19).
And what if Kanyevsky and Lior’s suggestions were to be implemented? Firing Arabs would be disastrous to Israel’s economy.
Who will replace the gas station attendents, the construction workers, the hotel employees? Will the good rabbis’ students leave their yeshivas, roll up their sleeves and take upon themselves these kind of jobs? Jerusalem, by the way, which leans so heavy on tourism, will be the first place to be hit by such move.
Last but not least, just think of all the thousands of Arabs who, being kicked out of their jobs, will sit frustrated at home — and not necessarily the home of their choice, if Lior has his way — and become easy prey for Hamas.
“Anger is a bad counsel,” goes the saying. It seems that sometimes rabbis are not a good source of advice either.
Uri Dromi was chief spokesman for the Israeli government under Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
Comments
Apparently reporters and Israeli Government officials have become the bearers of Halchah, morality and ethics?!
This must be some sort of Purim joke!
The Israeli Government and specificaly the lefties within the political debate couldn't care less about halachah or if the entire Judea and Samaria was bought with blood money.
Keep the discussion to politics, as that is what this is all about.
Of course, let's not stigmatize the arabs, 84% of whom expressed their support for the mercaz attack in a recent poll. One more idiotic piece by one more terminally delusional 'compassionate' Liberal in a media outlet, the Forward, which has become a prime venue for the promotion of every imaginable kind of arab-appeasing in the name of 'Compassion.' These fools who brought us Oslo, never learn.
I find it difficult to think that Uri would be better informed on religious issues than the Rabbis who are quoted. I find it equally despicable that a person involved with a government that lead us to the intifada and so much death, on both sides, thinks he could possibly have the moral authority to speak to this issue.
maybe when they acknowledge that they are "strangers in the land".
Uri: Only doctors can give medical advise. Army Generals are the authority at times of war. Similarly only Rabbi's have sole authority in Halachic law. Jews like formulating opinions on topics they know nothing about. You, Uri are obviously clueless in the arena of Halacha. Please report on issues which you have common ground.
Uri Dromi's backs his opinions with references to the Torah. That is really very impressive and praiseworthy. I'm really surprised at the comments that object to his right to quote the Torah. The Torah is meant to be common knowledge, and indeed one hears the Torah quoted in Israel literally by everyone - religious and non-religious. I wish this were the case in the American Diaspora as well - but, alas, most American Jews wouldn't know how to write their names in Hebrew script, let alone actually find a quote from the Torah in order to prove a point. One may agree or disagree with Uri Dromi - but it's always a pleasure to see that the Jewish text is relevant and at the fingertips of a Jew who is not necessarily a rabbi. The sad reality of the American Jewish experience is that only the Jewish professionals would have the ability to quote the sources.
Mr. Dromi, Forgive me if i prefer to take my moral and religious direction from Rabbis Kanievsky and Lior. But, pray tell, even in your "moral and religious world", since when do economic concerns trump the value of even one Jewish life?
It's not stigma, it's security - plain and simple.
Jew and their cousins had been in verbal attack for long time, but it is american play the [word deleted]. And american insist that they invade iraq for oil. Iraq never has oil anyway. And everyone knows that muslin don't really want to go to american, their dreams is not really in EU. Think about history,they had enough chance to go most places they want. However, just like jews, they also like play the justice role. and Think smart, at least want other people think so. And they are not like jew, they are lazy, they don't want to learn too much. So, that is the problem they have with US. They may like AUstralia, which is a whole bunch of desert. Period. They like desert. And God bless them AUS speak English. The bad news is AUS is almost stinggy like rednecks, rural rednecks, who don't even know how to sell their property, but rather keep it as perpetuity. AUS is easy, said their redneck cousin. And most americans would say AUS is easy. They misjudge a lot of things, perhaps they fool each other. That is the the thing. I like argentina, far away from everyone, and it is very hard for imbilesile even launched a war there. Only one thing bad, they may use G_d'name, perform mental attack their, which is excatly the fun of Muslins.
Readers need to explain ho Uri Dromi's arguments are wrong. Calling them failed leftist rheteric doesn't mean anything. He seems to be making good points, particularly with the Korah argument and why we can't dispense with Arab labor. How to people on the right counter these arguments?
Sorry, but my previous post was very badly written. What I meant to say is this: the replies to this article are either sarcastic or attack the author, but they don't really answer the arguments that Mr. Dromi makes. He is arguing that denying Arabs employment and housing is wrong on religious, moral, and practical grounds. Religious, because the incident of Korach tells us that an entire community should not be punished because of the actions of its individual members. Moral, because such a ban if carried out universally would result in tremendous hardship inflicted on innocent people. Practical, because Arabs are too ingrained in the Israeli economy to be successfully shunned.
This does not mean that Rabbi Kanyevsky's ruling can be dismissed lightly. The rabbi is one of the most major halachic authorities alive today. But in a discussion, supporters of the ruling need to counter Dromi's arguments in an intelligent way. I haven't seen that in the responses.
You can argue with me personally by e-mailing me at mhklein@verizon.net
WHEN REPORTERS AND SPOKESMEN TRY TO OFFER SAGE ADVICE. Uri Dromi is "paskening" from his leftist political view and from an economic view. Rabbi Kanyevski is Paskening from a Torah view. Has Dromi ever studied Maimonides' books called Yad Hachazaka? Has he ever studied Shulchan Aruch? Knowing a few pesukim does not give Dromi the right to compare his view to Rabbi Kanyevski's. Rabbi Kanyevsky knows the Torah. Rabbi Kanyevsky did not offer a political view. His view, as he stated, was a Torah viewpoint. Dromi offers a political view. If the two are in conflict, the more urgent one dominates. Rabbi Kanyevsky assumes life and death issues to be more dominating than economic ones.
Uri, if you knew Rabbi Kanyevsky, you would know that he is quite aware of the pesukim that you quoted but nevertheless ruled the way his "sage advice" lead him. Rabbi Kanyevsky is not a politician. He is a respectable figure! He's really concerned about Israeli lives. The leftist politicians, somehow, keep fooling themselves into thinking that peace can really ever be achieved with people that clearly speak behind our backs in Arabic - "we will kill every last jew." The leftists' sage advice has brought nothing but death and empty promises.